Criminal Hearts
by The Porcelain Puppeteer
Summary: Dr. Spencer Reid has always been a genius. Unfortunately mathematics, chemistry, and psychology can't help him understand women; especially when that woman is Anna Belden. ReidxOC
1. Stupid Philosophy Jokes

**Author's Note:** _Hello there! This is my first fanfic and I've decided to start with the amazing Dr. Reid. I'm new to so if you've got any comments or advice, let me know! _

_This first chapter takes place during the presentation in the beginning of "Masterpiece". Rate and Review please._

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"Most of us have done extensive post graduate work in studies such as abnormal psychology and sociology as well as intensive study of relevant casework and existing literature."

A tall, lanky, almost awkward young man stood at the front of a college classroom speaking to just over twenty college students in front of an open projection. He had wavy brown hair that just touched the top of his collar and a strong jaw that made his face look angular and distinguished. His brown eyes scanned the room and lingered on each face momentarily. His name was Dr. Spencer Reid. In front of him, sitting casually was an older looking man with black hair streaked slightly with gray. He didn't look that much older, but the gray gave him a mature look. He half sat with a welcoming smile on the podium. His name was SSA David Rossi.

"But that's after selection to the unit. First you have to be an agent, work in the field. That's what we're here to talk about. For that, the academics are wide open. Everyone in the room, once you graduate, regardless of your course study is eligible to apply for the FBI."

A young college student spoke up from the fifth row. "What did you study?"

Agent Rossi gave the room his winning smile. "Criminal justice. But sports appreciation was full up at my community college."

There was a collective laughter all around the room. A white haired man came in through the back door and sat in the farthest back row. He sat and quietly observed the presentation. Dr. Reid spoke again.

"I hold doctorates in chemistry, mathematics and engineering, As well as BA's in psychology and sociology."

A silence fell on the room as everyone simultaneously felt inferior. A young African American woman spoke up.

"How old are you?"

He smiled. "I'm twenty-seven. Twenty-seven as of last month actually. I'm also completing an additional BA in philosophy. Which reminds me that I have a joke." Agent Rossi made a motion that looked a lot like a 'shut up', but Dr. Reid ignored him and carried on.

"How many existentialists does it take to screw in a light bulb?" He giggled like a young boy. This was obviously very funny to him.  
"Two. One to change the light bulb and one to observe how the light bulb symbolizes an incandescent beacon of subjectivity in a netherworld of Cosmic Nothingness."

The silence grew even thicker as everyone except two people got the joke. The white man in the corner smiled, along with a young woman in the second row. Dr. Reid felt the joke was lost and tried to explain it.

"Um... an existentialist is-" But Agent Rossi quickly cut him off.

"Okay! Before he does is quantum physics knock-knock joke, do we have any other questions about opportunities in the FBI?"

Another young man in the fourth row asked the question every cop hates.

"Did you ever shoot anybody?"

Thirty minutes later the presentation ended and every student picked up their things and filed out of the room; every student except one. A young woman remained in her seat for a minute longer than the others. She was writing something in a notebook. She had shoulder length black hair that hung straight and was cut in layers around her face. Her face was oval shaped and her eyes were blue. Her skin was lightly tanned and she wore little makeup. A little eyeliner and some green eye shadow set off her blue eyes. Her pink lips were slightly parted as she stopped writing and closed her notebook. She blinked and looked up at the front of the room.

Agent Rossi was talking to a teacher that had sat in on the presentation and Dr. Reid was putting various papers into his messenger bag. The young woman put her notebook in her bag and stood. Dr. Reid paid no mind to the rest of the room as he read a couple more papers before putting those in his bag as well. The only time he noticed the young woman was when she was a foot or so away from him. It scared him slightly and he took a breath like she had said "Boo!" Once he realized it was just a young woman he gave her a nervous smiled and spoke.

"Sorry about that. I didn't see you there." He stood tall and he was about 6 inches taller that the girl.

She smiled and raised an eyebrow. "You're with the FBI. Shouldn't you be a little more observant?"

Dr. Reid smiled. "Not all of us can be Agent Rossi's" He looked over at the older Agent who was using his world class charisma with the teacher. She looked like she was meeting her favorite rock star.

The young woman nodded. "I've read his books. He's like the Steven Tyler of behavioral analyzers."

Dr. Reid brought his eyes back to the young woman. "Yeah, something like that." He shook his head and returned total focus to the girl. "I'm sorry; can I help you with something?"

"Actually I was wondering if you had brochures or pamphlets or something. I'm really interested in joining the FBI as soon as I get out of here."

Dr. Reid fished into his bag once more and got a couple of pamphlets and handed them to the young woman. "What group were you hoping to work in?"

The young woman shook her head. "I don't know. I was thinking something in forensics. I'm going for my masters in forensic technology, along with a BA in forensic analysis, and one in Philosophy."

Dr. Reid lit up. "So did you get my joke earlier?"

The young woman let out a small laugh and smiled. "Yes I did. But since I was the only other person in the room that did, I kept it to myself." She looked down at the pamphlets and back into the gorgeous brown eyes of Dr. Reid. Suddenly there was a small ringing in her pocket. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She had a text message from her room mate. Apparently she was trying to catch the dorm on fire again. "Crap. I have to go. It was nice meeting you Dr. Reid." The young woman stuck her hand out the shake his.

He took her hand in his and shook it. "I'm sorry; I didn't get your name."

The young woman pulled away and smiled. "I'm Anna."

"I'm Spencer."

Anna heard her phone ring again and she started to back away. "Well, it was nice to meet you Spencer." Anna turned and walked away from Spencer and started her way up the stairs. But she stopped, suddenly remembering something. She turned on the stairs and shouted down to Spencer who was still standing in the front of the room.

"Hey! How many Marxists does it take to change a light bulb?"

Spencer looked confused for a second then looked up. "I don't know."

Anna giggled. "None. The light bulb contains the seeds of its own revolution."

Dr. Reid burst into laughter as Anna smiled and ran from the room. Agent Rossi approached Dr. Reid with confusion highlighting all of his features. He obviously didn't get the joke.

"Who was that?" Once Dr. Reid stopped laughing he looked up at the door where Anna had exited.

"Anna."


	2. The Phone Call

**Author's Note:** _Yeah, I know. It's less that 24 hours since I posted the first chapter, but I felt like I just had to get this one out of my system before it went bad in my brain. Don't expect this kind of hurried updating all the time. Thanks to everyone who's already favorited this story just hours after its birth. I love you all! Review please!!_

_This part takes place just before "52 Pickup" _

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_The next day…_

Dr. Reid sat at his desk, lazily going through the pile of paperwork on his desk. They had just finished a case yesterday, but there was always paperwork waiting to be done. Cases needed consulting; reports needed done, fan mail needed replies… Okay there was no fan mail, but it would be a nice change from all of this boring stuff. He thought absent mindedly about the case they had yesterday.

The unsub had been a fan of Reid and he even attended the presentation yesterday. Reid sighed. _Why can't I have any normal fans?_ But his next thought brought him a smile. He thought of the girl at the presentation: Anna. She had seemed to be interested in Reid. Alright, she was interested in the Bureau, but she got his lame joke and that was something. He sat as his desk with that goofy smile as his thoughts wandered to the Marxism joke she told him. His thoughts were interrupted when the tall, dark and handsome Derek Morgan spoke to him.

"What are you smiling about Reid? Have you finally gone crazy, or did you get some honey last night?"

Derek sported a suggestive smile as Reid felt a little warmth go to his cheeks. "What?! No. Why does everything have to be about sex with you Morgan?"

Derek sat on Reid's desk and crossed his arms. "Because there are few things that make a man smile like that, and the majority of those things have to do with females."

Reid shook his head and went back to pretending he was getting some work done. "Well I wasn't thinking about a girl. I was thinking of a joke I heard the other day." His tone was slightly defensive.

Derek chuckled and smiled. "Whatever man." He got up off of Reid's desk and went back to his own. Reid gave himself a little secret smile before putting his fingers to the keyboard and actually getting some work done.

An hour or so later Reid sat up and stretched. He both loved and hated slow days in the bureau. If it was slow that meant there was more mind numbing paperwork to do, but it also meant that there were less killers to apprehend, less bodies to look at, less puzzles to solve. The pros outweighed the cons. Suddenly JJ stepped out of her office with a mischievous smile on her face. After only looking at her for a moment, he knew she was up to no good. She made her way to Reid's desk.

"So I just redirected a call from someone named Anna to a Dr. Spencer Reid." She couldn't have smiled any bigger if she were the Cheshire cat himself.

Reid's eyes widened and his mouth failed him. "Wh- what did you say? What did she want?" He suddenly felt like a fourteen year old.

"She asked to be patched through to you specifically, but I wanted to make sure you actually knew this girl. Judging by your nervous stutter and your red cheeks, that's a yes."

As if summoned by some magical force, Derek appeared behind JJ. "Ha ha! So I was right. You are chasing some girl."

Just as Spencer thought his cheeks couldn't get any redder, the color deepened to a maroon. "She's just some girl I met yesterday at the presentation." He tried to downplay it all, but his nervousness clearly showed.

JJ picked up the phone at Reid's desk and dialed. Before Reid could protest, JJ was holding the phone out to Reid. "You better talk, it's ringing."

Reid snatched the phone out of her hand as quick as he could without dropping it. The phone made that digitalized ringing sound and Reid took a moment to take a breath. _Why am I so nervous? She probably just has some questions about joining the FBI. Yeah, that's it._ There was a clicking noise and he heard a breath on the other end of the phone, and then her voice.

"Hello?" She said hello like she was asking a question. _Why do people do that?_

"Um... Hi. It's Dr. Reid from the FBI. Um… I'm returning your call." He tried to will his voice to sound less nervous, but it wasn't working very well. He finally closed his eyes, took a breath and thought of the first three random statistics he could recall.

_Every year about 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced_

_In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator._

_The average person makes about 1,140 telephone calls each year. _

He suddenly felt better and approached the situation a little calmer.

Anna's voice came through the other end of the phone. "Yeah. You know, for a semi-famous FBI agent, you're a tough man to get a hold of. Especially when you don't give out a card or anything." Her tone was light and happy. He could almost hear her smiling. Derek and JJ sat like two kids watching their favorite movie. Derek gave Reid a thumbs up as they tried to hold in their excitement that their nerdy little friend was finally talking to a girl.

Reid chuckled. "Only semi-famous?"

Anna's laughter was pure and sweet like peppermint candy. "Well I didn't see any paparazzi trailing you at campus. Unless you've got paparazzi, you're only semi-famous. But you're lucky I'm a smart cookie, else I wouldn't have found you at all. Apparently the front desk doesn't connect calls to the BAU unless it's business or a family emergency. So if they ask, I'm your sister Michelle and our Uncle Jessie is very sick."

Spencer laughed and glanced at David Rossi who had also joined in on watching the show. He leaned in close to Derek and JJ and spoke quietly. "Who's he talking to?"

JJ and Derek spoke in the same mocking tone. "Anna."

Rossi thought for a moment. "Anna? College presentation Anna?" Reid waved a hand in their direction telling them to go away, but they carried on like they hadn't seen it.

"You've seen her? Is she cute? What's she like." JJ instantly hounded Rossi with questions. Rossi shook his head.

Spencer ignored them and spoke to Anna. "Yeah. I guess I'm not as famous as I thought." He chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry; is there a reason you called or are you just trying to bruise my ego?"

Anna sighed. "Actually I was wondering if you have taken your lunch break yet."

Spencer was puzzled. "Why?"

Anna sounded amused. "Because I'm taking a survey about the lunch times of semi-famous FBI agents." Her sarcasm was evident, but she laughed anyways. "Because I want to have lunch with you, genius."

Again, confusion draped over his face. "Why?"

Anna sighed. "Because I'm running out of lame philosophy jokes, and you seemed like a perfectly nice guy with lame philosophy jokes."

Spencer smiled from ear to ear, completely tuning out the quiet laughter of his friends and colleagues. "S-sure! Um… Where do you want to meet?" He quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, forgetting momentarily that he had an eidetic memory.

Anna told him, "There's this little diner next door to the library on main. If you're half the nerd I think you are, you should know where that library is." She didn't say nerd like other people said it. Other people said 'nerd' like they were saying 'vomit'. She said it like it was a compliment. Spencer wasn't used to that.

"Yeah, I know where it is. Give me-"

Spencer was cut off in his moment of glee when Aaron Hotchner, unit chief, stood in front of his office and called over the group around Reid's desk. "C'mon guys. We've got a new case. We're briefing on the plane. Wheels up in thirty."

There was a collective groan from JJ and Derek. Rossi just shrugged. The smile dropped instantly from his face and he groaned a little.

"Spencer? You still there?" Anna sounded slightly concerned.

He sighed. "Yes, I'm still here. We just got called out for a case. Any way we can do this once I'm back?" Spencer prayed in his head that he hadn't just blown it with the only girl to ask him out… ever.

There was a pause on the other line and Spencer held his breath. "Yeah, we'll take a rain check. But now you owe me two lame jokes."

Spencer let out the breath he had been holding and laughed nervously. "Do they have to be philosophy jokes?"

She chuckled. "No. Any equally lame content will be quite fine. Grab a pen and paper and I'll give you my number." Spencer listened as she gave him those magical 10 numbers and wrote them down.

"Great. Great. I'll call you when I get back." A wave of joy washed over him and it must have showed because he could hear JJ giggle.

"Can't wait. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Spencer could barely hide his enthusiasm. "Bye." The phone clicked and Anna was gone.

Spencer carefully put down the phone on the receiver and looked at the shining faces of Derek and JJ. Rossi had left some time ago. Derek was the first to speak. "My man! You've got yourself a date." JJ just smiled and let out a small laugh.

Spencer leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. "Yeah, I guess I do." He let out a shaky laugh.

Derek smiled and patted Spencer on the shoulder before walking away. JJ got up and put a hand on Spencer's head and ruffled his hair in that big-sisterly type way before walking back to her office. Spencer smiled and looked down at the number written on the piece of paper. Astonishment mixed in with joy flooded through his chest.

_I've got a date. _


	3. Breaking and Entering

**Author's Note:** _Yay! I'm glad I'm getting good reviews on this thing. This chapter is quite a bit longer than the others, but I had to make it special since it was their first date. Thanks to everyone who favorited and reviewed. I love you guys! I spent a lot of time on this chapter so let me know how I did._

_This Chapter takes place right after "52 Pickup"_

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An elated Spencer Reid sat at his desk leaning back in his chair. They had arrived home from Atlanta last night and he had gotten a good nights sleep and was ready for the day. Today was the day he was going to call Anna back. In a strange stroke of luck, he had also managed to get another girl's number yesterday. A bartender in Atlanta that almost became another victim of the local serial killer. She seemed kind of into him. _It probably had something to do with the fact that we saved her life. Yeah, that's it_.

The phone on his desk began to ring. The caller ID was an Atlanta area code. He picked it up and answered. "Hello."

The Atlanta bartender's voice came though the phone. "Hey, Spencer. It's Austin."

Spencer smiled. "Hey! How you feeling?

"Great! Told my HMO I got abducted by a serial killer so they gave me free dental X-rays." She gave a soft laugh.

Spencer chuckled on his end. "Well, I'm glad your stay at the hospital wasn't too terrible."

"Yeah my doctor gave me a clean bill of health. Told me I can even go back to work if I wanted to." There was the sound of a car door closing and traffic going by.

"All right great back to bartending. Alright." Spencer nodded and smiled. He was glad she wasn't taking this traumatic experience badly.

"No, I quit that job. My recent brush with death has inspired me to pursue a different career."

The mail cart guy rolled around in front of Spencer's cubicle and handed him a small package. He set it on his desk and continued to talk to Austin. "That's very exciting news. What's the new job path?"

"Well, I was thinking about taking up magic. Have you opened the package yet?"

Spencer reached for the package on his desk and read the return address. It was from Atlanta. He ripped into the package and it took him a minute but when he got it open he lifted a small card from inside. It was the business card he had given to Austin that night at the bar. On the back there was a lipstick stain.

"Is this your card?" She giggled.

"Yeah… Yeah, it is my card." Spencer let out a laugh. "It seems like you have a promising career in the magic business." He looked at the card in his hand and then the clock on the wall. It was 11:00 am. Suddenly he remembered Anna: The girl who had gotten his philosophy joke and wanted to join the FBI. A small smiled formed on his lips and he spoke quickly.

"Actually, I just remembered I have to make a phone call. I'm glad you're doing better Austin. Good luck with your new career path. Bye." He heard her begin to say something, but he hung up the phone before she could get more than a few words out. Suddenly he didn't care about Austin the bartender from Atlanta. He went through the first drawer of his desk and found the slip of paper he had written Anna's number on. Before he lost his nerve he put the phone to his ear and dialed her number.

The phone rang, once… twice… three times… and then there was a click. Spencer held his breath. Anna's voice came through the earpiece. "Bonjour." It was definitely Anna's voice, but why was she speaking French? Fortunately, being a genius meant Spencer new more languages than just English.

His accent was terrible, but he knew the words. "Bonjour Anna."

Anna chuckled slightly. Her tone was light and welcoming "Hey Spencer. How are you?"

Spencer smiled and turned a pen around in his fingers. "I'm… I'm doing quite well actually. How are you?"

The sounds of a dog barking came through the other end. Her voice was casual. "Pretty good." There was a rustling noise like she was settling down on a bed or a large noisy couch. "So what's up?"

"I was wondering if you still wanted to go to lunch." He stuttered a little and he felt the flutter of nervousness in his chest. He was hoping Anna couldn't detect how nervous he really was.

"Well, I don't know. It's kind of short notice…" Her tone was mocking and she took a second to look through an imaginary calendar. "Yeah, I think if I move some appointments around, I can make it." She chuckled. "Give me an hour and I'll meet you at that place on main."

Spencer let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding and his face lit up. He tried not to sound too excited, but failed. "Yeah! I'll… I'll see you then." Reid hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. His smile was 100 watts. _I've got the date, now I just have to not screw it up. _

_Oh god, please don't let me screw it up._

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_An hour later... _

Spencer Reid was walking down a busy D.C. street. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets so that he would quit fiddling with them. The cars went by and people passed him on the street, but he paid no notice. He was nervous about meeting up with a girl like this. Sure, women had liked him in the past but it was just a 'fleeting moment' thing. They never liked him for more than a few hours or at most a few days. Than they realized how socially inept he was and slowly stopped talking to him. The only girls he had talked to for any extended period of time were JJ, Garcia, Prentiss and Todd. The only reason he talked to them so much was because he worked with them.

Prentiss had overheard the phone conversation between Anna and him and she forced him to run a comb through his wavy hair and made sure he looked halfway decent. It was kind of sad that his coworkers knew how little he dated. Spencer looked up ahead of him and saw the library. It was huge and filled with enough books to keep him busy for, a month maybe. For someone who reads 20,000 words per minute, a month was a long read. He found the little diner next to the library. Though 'diner' was probably the wrong word.

It was called 'The Industry". A look inside and Spencer found that all of the furniture and tables looked to be made out of scrap metal and Jackson Pollock-esque paintings covered the walls. The lights were dim, but the windows facing the street were open wide so most of the light was provided by the outdoors. Spencer took a breath and stepped inside. It took his eyes a second to adjust to the slight dimness, but once he did he started looking for Anna. He found her sitting in a booth near the back. Her black hair spilled around her shoulders. She wore an olive green t-shirt and jeans that had a hole in one knee. A small messenger bag the size of a purse sat on the bench next to her. She was reading the words people had scrawled all over the tables. Each table seemed to be a message board for whoever felt like reading it. Some were just random ramblings, others secrets people had left anonymously. Spencer stood a few feet away from Anna and watched her read for a minute or two. Anna must have sensed his presence because she turned around and looked Spencer in the eyes.

"Hey Spencer. Glad you could make it. C'mon, sit." She pointed at the spot across from her. Spencer smiled nervously and nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks for inviting me. How... how did you find this place? It's…different." Spencer looked around a little before returning his gaze to Anna.

"I spend a lot of time at the library next door. Sometimes I spend so much time there I need to break for food and water. This is the closest place. Plus they have the best grilled cheese sandwich in town." Anna smiled. Spencer went to grab a menu and Anna whipped her hand out and put it on his wrist, stopping him. "You won't need that. I've already ordered for you." She let her hand linger for a moment but drew it back to her side of the table. Spencer's hand burned where she had touched it and it took all of his will power to convince his cheeks not to go red from the sudden contact.

Spencer looked dubious. "How do you know what I'll like?"

Anna smiled and leaned forward a little. "I don't know; but that's what makes it interesting." A waiter came to the table with a large paper bag and two drinks.

Spencer shot Anna a confused look. "I thought we were eating here."

Anna stood and grabbed the bag. "I said we were meeting here. I never said we were eating here. C'mon, this way."

Without giving Spencer another chance to speak, Anna walked towards the back of the diner. Spencer got up and grabbed the drinks, following her along. They walked past the counter and through the kitchen. Nobody looked twice at Anna, like she wasn't a stranger to them at all. They walked into a hallway behind the kitchen until they came to a steel door. Anna put her hand on the door knob but stopped when Spencer spoke up.

"Wait... wait a second. Where are we going?" His voice was slightly frantic. The man who knows everything was not used to being led blind somewhere. He didn't like surprises.

Anna looked at him and spoke frankly. "This is a back entrance to the library next door. The owner takes a pretty long lunch break so it's closed right now. As long as we clean up, he won't notice."

Spencer's eyes widened. "But that's breaking and entering!"

Anna smiled. "Yeah, so? You gonna arrest me?" She put her wrists together and held them out to Spencer. Her eyes were challenging him, Spencer could see that.

He straightened up and took the challenge. "No."

Anna let a small smirk tug at her lips and she lowered her arms. "Well then c'mon." She put a hand on the door knob and turned it. She pushed on the door and walked in. Spencer took a breath. _What am I doing?_ He shook his head and followed Anna into the dark.

There was movement in the darkness and Spencer called out her name. "Anna. Where are you?" Some lights came to life in the ceiling and revealed Anna standing next to a light switch.

"There. That's better." Anna motioned for Spencer to follow her and he did. She led him in and out of shelves filled with hundreds of books. They went to the farthest back area of the library where there was a small table and some chairs. She sat the bag down on the table and pulled up a chair. She smiled and gestured to the other chair. Spencer pulled up a chair of his own and watched as she pulled out two Styrofoam boxes. She put one in front of Spencer and one in front of herself. She opened hers first. It looked to be a grilled cheese sandwich and some French fries. She picked up a fry and looked at Spencer's still unopened box. "It's not going to bite you. Open it." She popped the French fry in her mouth and smiled.

Spencer raised his eyebrows at her before reaching down to open his box. He opened it and saw what looked to be a grilled chicken sandwich. It had lettuce and some sort of sauce along with a little bit of onions and tomato. It wasn't his first choice of a meal, but it wasn't bad. In an unfamiliar eating place it was a safe thing to order. Spencer suddenly realized how hungry he was and went to take a bite of his sandwich, but Anna put up a hand.

"Wait a second. You still owe me those jokes." She smiled and sat back in her seat, waiting.

Spencer put down his sandwich and cleared his throat. "Oh… right. Well I've got two." He sat up and prepared himself. "There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't." He smiled when Anna smiled. It took her a second but she began laughing lightly. Her laugh reminded him of peppermint candy.

"Okay that was good. One more." Anna smiled and waited for the next one.

Spurred on by his previous success, Spencer continued. "Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, 'I think I've lost an electron.' The other says, 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive…'" Spencer tried to contain his own giggling, but failed. Anna immediately burst into laughter. They laughed for a good two minutes. It wasn't that the joke was particularly funny, it was just that the fact that the other was laughing kept them laughing too.

Once the laughter died away, Anna spoke. "Those were good Spencer. You have earned your lunch." Her eyes lit up with the remnants of the laughter still in her. She took a bite of her sandwich and Spencer did the same. They ate in silence for a minute before Anna said something. "Describe yourself in five words."

Spencer looked confused for a moment, but went along. "Attentive, Intellectual, Perceptive, Resolute, and Semi-famous." He took a drink of his coke and looked at Anna. "What about you? Describe yourself in five words."

Anna thought for a second. "Forgetful, Clumsy, Aggressive, Determined, Guarded." Anna took another bite of her sandwich.

Without even thinking Spencer spoke up. "You forgot beautiful." His eyes widened slightly and his cheeks flushed red. He hadn't meant to say that out loud at all. That was supposed to stay in a thought bubble.

But instead of being creeped out, Anna looked surprised for a second, and then smiled. "Thank you." She said it in almost a whisper. If he hadn't been listening he might not have heard it at all.

Anna took a breath. "So how's life as a big bad FBI agent?" Her eyes settled on Spencer's.

Spencer nodded. Talking about the FBI he was good at. This was something he knew. "It's pretty good. We actually just got back from Atlanta last night. A serial killer went around killing prostitutes. But then he took a course on how to meet women and started charming his victims to come home with him. He killed four women before we could catch him, but when we did we saved the life of a bartender." Talking about murder and death was what he did most of the time. He had no idea that it wasn't very good lunch conversation. But Anna didn't look horrified or run screaming from the room. She just raised her eyebrows.

"Wow. Sounds like an exciting job. Catching bad guys, travelling all around the country. No wonder you like it so much." Anna smiled. "You lit up as soon as I asked you about the FBI."

Spencer smiled and nodded. "It's a good job. Not the easiest job in the world, not by a long shot. But on those days we actually get a win, it's a great job."

Anna looked at him seriously. "And what about those days when you don't win?"

Spencer's smile faded and his voice got noticeably quieter. "Then we learn from those days, so next time we can win." Anna sat back in her chair. Her eyes traveled along his face and down to his hands. He was fiddling with his hands again.

Spencer shook his head slightly and looked to Anna. "What about you? Do you work or are you a full time college student?"

Anna shook her head. "I waitress part time, go to school part time, and now I'm starting an internship at the forensics department of the MPDC."

Spencer raised his eyebrows. "Wow, seems like you lead a busy life."

Anna laughed. "Yeah. Thus is the life of a college student. Luckily I'll be out of school at the end of the semester and I can start a real job."

"Yeah." Spencer thought of his job, and looked at his watch. It was already 12:45. He needed to be back by 1. He sighed. "Oh, I have to be back by one o'clock. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave now." Spencer stood and closed the box with his mostly eaten sandwich. Anna stood and her eyes widened. She had just remembered something.

"Oh crap. I just remembered. I was supposed to get a book for you. Did I mention I was forgetful?" Anna began walking to the book shelves. Spencer waited for a second, and then assumed she wanted him to follow her. Spencer walked in between the aisles of book shelves. He had to speed himself up to catch up with her but when he did, he found her looking at a very tall bookshelf. Her hand was extended in the air and her finger was moving as she was counting down the row of books. "Ah! There it is." She pointed a few rows up, the top row, at a small red book.

Spencer looked around and saw no ladder, and the book was clearly too high for either of them. "It's too high. We're going to have to find a… what are you doing?"

Spencer looked back at Anna and saw her scaling the bookshelf like it was a rock wall. She would take out a book, drop it to the ground, and then use the empty space as a hand or foothold. _This girl is crazy!_

"Get down from there Anna! You're going to hurt yourself." Spencer realized he sounded like a parent scolding his child, but he didn't care. Anna stopped and looked down, a smile planted on her face.

"Calm down, Spencer. I'm just getting your book." Anna kept climbing. Spencer shook his head. He wasn't used to people doing what they wanted to do simply because they wanted to do it, without fear of getting hurt. Spencer was freaking out, but inwardly he was kind of impressed.

"Aha! Here it is." Anna had reached the top shelf and she was talking the book out. She dropped it to the ground at Spencer's feet and smiled from above him.

"Alright, you got it. Now come down. Please." Spencer was pleading at this point. Anna sighed and began backing down. She put her hands and feet in the spaces where the books had been.

Just as Spencer's heart was slowing he saw Anna waver on the shelf. He was standing almost directly beneath her. She tried to steady herself by putting both feet on the same ledge, but she couldn't. Spencer was able to tense himself right before she fell from the middle of the shelf. It happened in just a second, but before he knew it, Anna's body came crashing down on his own. He was able to break her fall, but he ended up falling too. There was a loud thump as both of their bodies hit the floor and another crack as Spencer's head hit the shelf. Anna groaned and rolled over off of Spencer, but didn't get up. Spencer got up as quickly as he could and turned her over. "Anna. Anna! Are you okay?" Spencer was greeted by the sound of laughing as Anna turned to face him. Her breathing was harsh and shallow because she just couldn't stop laughing. Spencer put a hand to his head and sighed. "Well I'm glad you thought that was funny. You could have hurt yourself." Spencer dropped his hand and smiled. He couldn't help it. The sight of her laughing made him smile.

Anna sat up and stopped laughing. "And without you, I just might have. Thanks." She held a hand out and Spencer helped her to her feet. Anna straightened out her now ruffled clothes and took a breath. She picked up the book and handed it to him. It was _The Object of Morality_ by GJ Warnock. "It's a philosophy book a friend suggested to me. Since you're working on your BA too, I thought you might like it."

Spencer looked down at the book and smiled. "Thanks. I'll be sure to read this."

"No no. Thank you. I'm glad you were here to break my fall." Anna reached up brushed a piece of hair off of Spencer's forehead. "My hero." Anna looked at Spencer one more time before walking down the book aisle away from him. Spencer smiled to himself before following Anna to the door they entered the library by earlier. She opened the door and stood beside it. Spencer didn't want to go, but he knew that Hotch would throw a fit if he weren't there and they were called into a case.

Spencer stood in front of Anna. "Thanks. This has definitely been… interesting."

"Well now that I have your number, we can do this again sometime. And next time, I'll try not to fall on you." Anna smiled.

"Good. Because next time, I might not be able to catch you." Spencer smiled and began to walk into the hallway behind the kitchen.

"Bye Spencer." Anna said before she shut the door.

Spencer looked at the door for a moment before walking out of the hallway. "Bye Anna."


	4. Thunder and Lightning

**Author's Note:** _I'm trying my hardest to not skip to the exciting episodes of Criminal Minds. I've got some cool shit planned for episodes like "Amplification" But I want Reid and Anna's relationship to develop a little more before the dramatic stuff starts. _

_Thank you everyone who has reviewed and favorited this story. It's you guys that keep me writing this. I love constructive criticism so feel free to tell me what you like and don't like about the story. Reviews = Love_

_This chapter begins on the plane ride from the case in "Brothers in Arms." _

--*---*---*--

Reid sat on the white leather couch of the private jet now flying 30,000 feet in the air. It was three o'clock in the afternoon and the members of the BAU were on their way back from Phoenix, Arizona. Hotch sat at one of the tables, writing a report. Prentiss and Todd sat at the other playing some card game. Rossi sat in one of the chairs with his glasses on reading a book. Reid had huddled himself under his sweater on one of the couches near the rear of the plane. He was strangely more tired than usual. The only members missing were Morgan and JJ. Morgan had stayed in Phoenix to attend the funeral of a cop who had died during the investigation, and JJ was still at home on maternity leave.

Reid had taken off his sweater and turned it into a makeshift blanket over his arms and chest. His legs were pulled onto the couch so he was curled up like a child who had stayed up past his bed time. His eyes were half closed and looked to be focused on the carpet of the jet, but in reality he was letting his mind wander. His mind was always working a million miles a minute, but not having anything particular to think about let him relax. He wandered to the lunch date he had with Anna. A small goofy smile took over his lips as he thought of her. She was brave, observant, pretty and smart. Reid tried not to think about it, but in his half sleep he really couldn't deny it, he was smitten. _But it was just two people meeting for lunch. She couldn't possibly like me after one lunch…could she?_

He was jolted awake when Prentiss came and sat at the end of the couch. Todd wasn't far behind as she sat on the chair closest to the couch. They both smiled with an evil gleam in their eyes that only women could manage. Reid looked worried. "Yes…?" Reid sat up and let the sweater fall from his arms and chest. When he sat up he bumped his head on the back of the couch and winced in pain. It wasn't that he bumped his head hard; it was that he was still sore from cracking his head on the bookshelf when Anna fell on him.

Prentiss raised her eyebrows. "What's with the wincing?"

Reid shook his head. "It's… It's nothing. I just hit my head on… a bookshelf."

Prentiss and Todd shared a look like they were telling each other something that Reid couldn't see or understand. They let the comment pass and Reid was glad he didn't have to explain it. He didn't feel like talking about his lunch date to the only females he knew.

Prentiss spoke up. "So… how did your date go?" Prentiss and Todd had the same look in their eyes children must have right before opening their presents on Christmas.

_Yeah I guess it was too much to ask that my coworkers didn't pry into what little social life I have. Oh well. If I don't tell them, they'll come to their own conclusions._ Reid thought to himself. He cleared his throat. "Well... it was nice." Reid tried to leave it at that, but Todd spoke up.

"Nice? That's it? C'mon Reid, give us some details." Todd leaned forward in her seat just slightly and locked eyes with Reid. He squirmed under their gaze like he was uncomfortable.

Rossi looked up from his book. "Tell them what they want to know Reid and maybe they'll let you go with as little bloodshed as possible." This comment got him a glare from both the women, so he went back to reading his book. They turned their attention back to Reid and waited for him to talk. Reid sighed and admitted defeat.

He recounted the events of that afternoon, from meeting at the Industry, to breaking into the library, to the fall that left him with the bruise on the back of his head. He tried to make it as succinct as possible, leaving out the little details; like the way her hair moved when she did and how her eyes glittered with laughter even when she was done laughing.

When he was done he took a breath in the silence and waited. He knew they were going to pass judgment on the date. As his only female friends it was kind of their job. Prentiss and Todd smiled to each other and nodded. Prentiss spoke up first. "You like her don't you?"

Reid tried to hold it back, but his cheeks grew slightly red. Prentiss and Todd grinned and said "awe" simultaneously. The awe really did it for him. They sounded like doting aunts and that was the most embarrassing thing of all.

Reid straightened up and spoke. "Okay, okay. If you guys are done prying into my personal life, I'd like to get some sleep." He took his sweater and pulled it up over his arms and chest and leaned into the couch, making his point. Prentiss and Todd rose from their seats and exchanged smiles, but said nothing more.

Reid looked and made sure they were leaving and once they sat back down at their booth, Reid settled back into a comfortable position. He closed his eyes like he was going to sleep, but in reality he was letting his mind wander. He was also debating whether or not he was going to tell his mother about Anna in the letter he was going to write her later. Either she was going to freak out, or be proud of her son. Usually she was nothing but proud, but some days were worse than others. He decided would definitely mention her in his next letter right before his mind finally quieted and sleep took him.

--*---*---*--

_Three hours later…_

Reid was awakened by his name being called and the sound of airplane wheels hitting the tar mat. It was Hotch calling his name, and it was their airplane wheels touching down. Reid sat up and ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes. Hotch was standing in front of him. "We're home Reid. Time to get up." Reid stood and grabbed his bag from the overhead and put his sweater back on. Looking out the window he noticed it was raining. The airplane slowed to a stop and everyone was getting up. Prentiss and Todd were speaking quietly to each other and Rossi and Hotch were silent exiting the plane. Reid was still groggy from sleep so he didn't feel like chatting.

Thirty minutes later they were all walking into the BAU and putting their stuff away. Hotch reminded them all to get a good nights rest and to be up and ready bright and early. Reid made his way to his desk to drop off some papers before he went home for the evening. He looked to his desk and found his message light was blinking on his phone. Reid furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. _Who would be calling me?_

He picked up the phone and went to his voicemail. The robotic female voice told him he had one new message from earlier today at four pm. Suddenly Anna's voice came over the phone and Spencer lit up like Christmas morning.

"Hey Spencer, it's me Anna. Call me back when you get this. I'll be waiting." The phone clicked and the robotic female voice indicated that that was the last message.

Spencer smiled. The message wasn't very specific, but he knew that Anna wanted to talk to him. That alone made him smile. It was already 6 pm, so he wasn't expected to do anymore work today. He picked his go bag up and his usual messenger bag and headed for the door. In the elevator he picked up his cell phone and dialed Anna's number. It rang twice before Anna's voice came on the other line. She sounded breathy, like she'd been running. "Hello?"

"Hey Anna, it's Spencer."

"Oh, hey Spencer. Did you get my mess- ...Hold on." There was a sound like distant yelling and then another sound like a door slamming shut. Anna sighed. When she spoke next she sounded frustrated and slightly angry. "Sorry about that. My roommate and her boyfriend are being crazier than usual. They've been like this for hours now and I can't get them to shut up and give me some peace and quiet. Which is actually why I called you." She took a breath in and out and when she spoke again she sounded a lot friendlier. "I really need to get out of this house. Any chance you feel like hanging out tonight?"

Spencer stepped out of the building and into the garage where his car was. The rain was pouring down hard outside and Spencer was thankful he parked his car in the parking garage. Even though it was only six o'clock, the clouds obscured the sky and made it much darker than any normal day.

"Um...Yeah" He was sort of uncertain. He was able to act semi-normal for that hour or so they were together the other day, but could he really keep it up?

Anna heard the uncertainty in his voice. "If you're busy or something it's fine. I'll just go hang out at The Industry tonight. It's no big deal." But there was disappointment in her tone.

Spencer didn't want to voice the real reason he was uncertain, so he made something up. "Well, it's just we just landed in from Phoenix and I haven't been home yet. I'd planned on staying in tonight." This was true enough. He had planned on staying home tonight. But it wasn't his desire to be alone that kept him from wanting to go out and see Anna, it was his fear that he would screw everything up. His quick mind wrestled with itself for a moment, but finally came to a conclusion.

_But I want to see her. I've got to try. _

Anna was about to speak again, but Spencer spoke up. "But, if you want, we can spend some time at my place. I mean… if you really want to get out of the house…" He hoped Anna wouldn't think he was trying to set them up or something. That wasn't his intention at all. But his home was his arena. He knew where everything was there and he was comfortable.

Anna sighed, but it was a good sigh. "Oh man, thank you. I would much rather hang out with you than listen to this." Anna chuckled and she seemed instantly lighter. "Where do you live?"

Spencer got in his car and shut the door. As he was turning the key he gave her the address and some general directions. Reid lived in an apartment complex about 30 minutes from Quantico. "I'll be home in 30 minutes or so."

Anna spoke. "Awesome. I should get there just as you are. I'm about 30 minutes in the opposite direction."

Spencer laughed. "Good. I'll… I'll see you then."

"You too, bye."

"Bye."

Spencer hung up his cell phone and sat frozen in his seat for a moment. _Did I really just do that? Did I really just invite an almost complete stranger to my house?_ But for some reason he didn't feel regret or fear, he just felt nervous.

Thirty minutes later he was pulling into a parking space in front of his apartment complex. He was still very nervous. He kept tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. He turned the car off and just sat for a minute. He almost didn't want to get out. He almost wanted to call Anna and tell her he was suddenly called in for a case or something. He wanted to run. But then he thought of Anna's blue eyes and the way she laughed, the way she looked when she was listening like she thought every syllable you uttered was of vital importance. Spencer smiled, and all of a sudden he didn't feel so nervous. Of course he was still a little nervous, just not as much.

He grabbed his bags from the back seat and opened his door. It was pouring rain still and the sky had darkened significantly. Spencer took a breath, like he was about to take a dive, and got out of the car. He slammed his door shut and ran to the front door trying to get as little rain on his as possible. He opened the front door to the apartment complex and ran inside. He was wet, but not soaked. He had enough water on him to make his sweater slightly darker and his wavy hair even wavier with wetness. He shook some of the rain off of him and began up the stairs. But just as he got to the top of the first flight the door opened and shut suddenly. Spencer looked down the stairs and saw Anna.

Her hair was wet all around the top and it stuck to her head. She was wearing a grey t-shirt and a dark blue hoodie that zipped in the front. The shoulders and arms of her hoodie were almost black with wetness. She wore jeans that were faded all down her thighs and knees. The bottoms of her jeans were dark blue from the rain. She had a small shoulder bag and the strap crossed her chest. She stood in the entry way and shook her head. The water droplets flew off of her hair and onto the floor.

Spencer stood still for a moment, just watching her. It was like every muscle was frozen, except for his eyes. Anna looked back out the door and then looked up the stairs. It was only when she noticed Spencer that he moved. He smiled almost embarrassingly and ran a hand through his wet hair.

Anna smiled and spoke. "Hey Spencer." She walked up the stairs and joined him.

Spencer smiled. "Hey Anna. I... I live on the third floor. It's this way." He picked up his bags and headed up the stairs with Anna in tow.

They reached the third floor and Spencer took out his keys and unlocked his door. It was then that Anna said something. "Thanks for inviting me over Spencer. I was very close to punching my roommate and her idiot boyfriend."

Spencer smiled. "Oh, it's no problem." He opened the door and led her in. Anna walked through the front hall slowly, taking everything in.

Her first impression of the living room was that it was very dark, but she reached a small table with a lamp and turned it on. All of the furniture was made out of hardwood and leather and it reminded Anna of a cozy old library. A dark brown leather couch was the center of the room. A low coffee table sat in front of the couch. Files and newspapers littered the coffee table. The couch faced a small TV that looked slightly out of date and definitely out of use. One small table stood on either side of the couch, each held a small lamp. Anna walked and turned one on. The rest of the room lit up.

A desk sat in the very back right corner of the room, also littered with papers. Opposite of that in the left corner was a bookshelf that went to the ceiling and took up the entire corner. It was the only part of the room that seemed organized. Every book was specially placed and the bookshelf was filled to bursting. In between the bookshelf and the desk were two windows. The drapes were open, but the rain made it too dark to see much of anything. To the left there was an entrance to a tiny kitchen. A stove, a couple of cupboards, and a refrigerator were all that was there. A coffee machine sat on the counter and it looked like it got plenty of use, but it was the only thing in the kitchen that did. Two other doors were connected to the living room, but both were shut. It was a small apartment all in all, but it was cozy.

Anna walked the living room and nodded in approval. "Nice place." She ran a hand along the arm of the leather couch. Spencer opened one of the doors and put his bags inside. Anna caught a glimpse of a bedroom, but he shut the door once more.

Spencer smiled nervously. "Sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting company." He picked up the files on the coffee table and stuffed them away in a drawer. He gathered the newspapers to one side of the coffee table. He started buzzing around the room like a nervous maid. He straightened up his desk fairly quickly and turned on two more lamps so the dimness of the room disappeared entirely.

"It's fine. I don't mind." Anna stood and made her way to the bookshelf. She ran a finger along the bindings of various books and read their titles.

Spencer stopped what he was doing. "Please don't climb that one. I'm not sure those books can take it." He was sort of kidding.

Anna's tone was sarcastic, but light. "Well I'll try to contain myself. But I'm not making any promises."

Anna shivered. It wasn't that the apartment was cold; it was the fact that her hoodie was drenched as well as the shirt under it. Spencer ran a hand through his wet hair. "Um... I'm going to go change out of my wet clothes. Would you like me to get you a sweatshirt or something?"

Anna gave a small smile. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks."

Spencer nodded and backed into his bedroom and shut the door. As soon as the door was shut Spencer let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and leaned against the door for a moment. His nervousness had faded slightly, but his heart still felt like a butterfly in his chest. He shook his head and stood. He walked to the nightstand next to his bed and put his gun and badge in the drawer. He walked to his closet and looked at his clothes. He didn't feel like getting back into dressy clothes like his usual slacks and a button up shirt. When he was home alone, he usually just put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He thought of Anna and her ripped jeans and casual clothing. Maybe it wouldn't kill him to look casual in front of someone else once in a while. He settled on a pair of jeans and a loose fitting long sleeved shirt. He ran a brush through his hair to make it not seem so wet and crazy. He grabbed a hooded sweatshirt out of his closet. It was dark blue with FBI printed in yellow letters across the heart. It was one of his only ones.

He emerged from his bedroom and Anna was sitting on the couch with a book in her hand. It was _Le Morte d'Arthur_, a story about the death of King Arthur. It was one of Spencer's favorites. She was flipping through the pages like she knew the story and was skipping to her favorite parts. She had taken the hoodie off and laid it next to the door. Her grey shirt was dark on her shoulders, like it was still damp. She had pulled her wet hair into a ponytail.

It took her a second to realize Spencer had come out of his room. When she did, she looked to him and smiled. "You look good in jeans. Too bad the FBI doesn't have a casual Friday."

Spencer let out a small laugh. "Here, you can borrow this." He held out the hooded sweatshirt.

Anna took the sweatshirt from Spencer. "Thank you." She took it and pulled it over her head. Since Spencer was taller than her, it was a little baggy, but it looked good nonetheless. She crossed her arms and hugged herself, trying to get warm, and sat back down. She had taken her shoes off as well. She sat cross legged and huddled into the warm clothes. She smiled. "This is much better."

Spencer smiled. "I'm going to go make me some coffee, would you like some?" Anna nodded and Spencer made his way to his tiny kitchen. He put some new grounds in the coffee maker and poured the water. He let it begin brewing and walked back into the living room. Anna was still flipping through _Le Morte d'Arthur_. Spencer sat on the opposite end of the couch. "_Le Morte d'Arthur__**.**_ That was one of my favorite books as a kid."

Anna looked up and closed the book. That ever present smile resided in her eyes even when it didn't reside on her lips. "As a kid? Wow, you really are a talking brain aren't you?" She laughed.

Spencer laughed a little. "Well, my mom used to teach 15th century literature. She read stuff like that to me all the time as a kid." Spencer shocked himself. He rarely talked about his mother, even to his friends. Why was he telling this girl he barely knew about his childhood? He looked to her and for some reason he just felt comfortable.

Anna sat the book on the coffee table. "That's cool. My dad is a pastry chef. He taught me how to make crème puffs and doughnuts as a kid. Not as educational as 15th century literature, but a lot tastier." Even though they were on opposite ends of the couch, the couch was small enough that Spencer could have reached out and touched her if he wanted to. "I've got a mad sweet tooth because of my father."

Spencer himself had a sweet tooth. Morgan once told him instead of getting him coffee with sugar, Spencer got "sugar with a little bit of coffee in it." Spencer looked at the book on the table. Lightning flashed just outside the window and both of their heads turned immediately to the sudden light. The inevitable thunder crash came soon after and it made Spencer's teeth chatter for a second.

Anna shivered. "Man, it's really coming down out there. I hope Artemis does alright." Spencer gave her a questioning look. Anna explained. "Artemis is my roommate's cat. She hates thunderstorms." Spencer nodded.

Anna looked around the room. The lightning flashed again and lit the room momentarily with its white light. She looked back to Spencer. "So how was Phoenix? I hear the wildlife is beautiful. I've never been there before though." Spencer was pleasantly surprised. She didn't ask about the case at all. This was good, because the last thing he wanted to talk about right now was serial killers.

Spencer let a light smile touch his lips. "It was good. I didn't get to see much but-…" Spencer was cut off by another lightning crack and the crash of thunder. Suddenly the lights flickered and Spencer widened his eyes just before they went out completely. Suddenly the two were bathed in darkness. There was a high pitched yip from Anna and a gasp from Spencer. Without thinking, Spencer reached his hand out to Anna. He was surprised when his hand touched hers because that meant she was reaching for his as well. The grasped hands in the darkness and were silent. Only the sound of their slightly panted breathing in the darkness and the hold of each others hand told them the other was there. Lightning flashed and illuminated the room for a second and they looked to each other. Both of their eyes were wide, trying to get their night vision.

Anna spoke first. "Um... Holy crap."

Spencer's voice wavered. "I second that."

Anna's confident tone had disappeared with the light. "Do you have any... like candles or something?"

Spencer took a breath and tried to get his frantic heartbeat under control. Not only was he deathly afraid of the dark, he was sitting here holding Anna's hand. He gulped and spoke. "Yeah, I've got some in the coat closet. But I can't see well enough to get there." He was glad it was dark, so Anna couldn't see how red his cheeks were at that moment.

"Hold on a sec." Anna said. There was some rustling around on her end and a minute or so later she opened her cell phone. The bright light blinded Spencer for a second, but it also comforted him. A beam of light in the darkness of his phobia.

Spencer sighed in relief. "Okay, the coat closet is this way." Neither of them broke contact. It was this unspoken thing between them to not let go of each others hand. They both stood together. Anna pointed their only light in front of them as they made their way to the coat closet. Once they made it there, Spencer reached high in the closet for a small box of tea lights. They walked back to the couch with Anna lighting the way. They sat back down and Anna grabbed a lighter and lit the first candle. With the first candle lit, they pulled apart their hands and went to lighting the rest. They had about 8 small tea lights in all. Four were on the coffee table and two were one each table on the sides of the couch.

When they were done they both seemed in a better mood. The room glowed with the light from the small candles and the scent of cinnamon wafted through the air. Anna laughed softly. Spencer gave her a confused look. "What's so funny?"

Anna laughed a little harder. "Us. You should have seen your face when the lights went out. You were freaking out." She laughed some more.

Spencer smiled. "Well you weren't exactly Zen either." He started to laugh as well. They were laughing to hide their fear. You either laugh about it, or wallow in it. They had chosen to laugh. They sat close on the couch and laughed until tears threatened their eyes.

When the laughter stopped in their mouths it remained in their eyes. It took them a minute to regain control of their breathing, but when they did, the room suddenly seemed less scary and more comfortable. They sat facing each other on the couch. Anna had her legs folded Indian style and Spencer sat on one of his legs and let the other dangle off the couch. The soft light from the candles lit their faces and made the room warmer.

Anna leaned back a little. "So what do we do now?"

Spencer sighed. "I don't know. I'm not used to being caught in the dark like this."

Anna shrugged. "We can just sit here and talk. Not like there's anything else to do."

"Ok." Spencer nodded.

Anna started first. "What do you do for fun?"

"I play chess, and read."

Anna laughed. "Don't get out much, do you?"

Spencer gave her a look. "I get out enough." But the look in Anna's eyes said she didn't believe him. He sighed. "Well what do you do for fun?"

Anna straightened up. "I love watching movies."

And it went on like that for a long time. They exchanged likes and dislikes along with a little family history. They seamlessly flowed from one topic to another, never once leaving the couch or looking at the time. It was like they were stuck in a story, each other's story, and didn't want to get up until they read every word. They avoided certain topics without prying. Spencer never once mentioned his father or his mother's illness, and Anna never once mentioned her mother at all. Anna found out that Spencer was 27 and he had grown up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Spencer found out that Anna was 25 and she grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The small tea lights soon melted into nothing but wax. Once by one during the conversation they all went out until there was only one left on the coffee table. But neither of them noticed. Sometime during the conversation their hands had entwined again, but neither really cared or made any notice of it.

It wasn't until the last tea light was almost gone did Spencer look around and notice how much time had passed. It was still raining outside, just not as badly. They both stopped talking suddenly and watched the last tea light. They sat in the silence and watched the last light source slowly die. It was reduced to a small blue dot on the table right before it went out completely.

They were plunged into the darkness once more and Spencer felt Anna squeeze his hand. He squeezed back to let her know he was there. The little red ember on the tip of the candle went out as well and Anna and Spencer couldn't see anything. But neither of them was scared. The close contact of their hands acted like a security blanket between them. They were silent in the darkness.

Suddenly Spencer felt Anna shift on the couch, and a moment later there was a small breath on his face. Before he could register what was happening, Anna's lips brushed Spencer's in a light kiss. She pulled away slightly, but the sound of her breathing and the hot air on his face told him that she was mere inches away. There was a pause before Anna leaned in to close the space between them again and their lips touched once more. This time Spencer kissed Anna back and he could feel her lips smile against his. She removed one of her hands from his and touched his cheek with the lightest of touches. They pulled apart again and this time it was Spencer who closed the gap. They pressed their mouths together a little harder than before and they could each feel the other's breathing quicken. Anna brought her other hand to the other side of Spencer's face and her fingers travelled to the back of his head where she pulled him in closer. Spencer's hands moved as they kissed to Anna's waist and he locked his fingers together behind her back. They sat in the darkness for what seemed like an eternity, kissing where no one could see them.

After what seemed like days, they broke apart. Anna's hands were still lingering on the back of Spencer's neck and his were lightly resting on her waist. They were panting ever so slightly.

Anna was the first to speak. Her voice was a little breathy. "Wow."

Spencer smiled in the darkness. "I second that."

Suddenly the lamps beside them flickered and then blared to life. The sudden light made them shut their eyes until their eyes adjusted. When they opened them they were only inches apart. Spencer's hair was slightly messed up and Anna's lips were redder than before. Anna released her hands from the back of Spencer's neck and he released his from her waist. They pulled back and sat up straight. Anna was the first to move. She gave a short laugh and brought her knees to her chest. She was smiling at Spencer. Spencer smiled back kind of awkwardly.

Spencer looked around. He had no idea how long they had been talking or how long they had been kissing. He couldn't find his cell phone. "What time is it?"

Anna took out hers and looked. "12:51."

Spencer groaned. He had to be back at Quantico by six. He needed to get some sleep. He looked to Anna. He didn't want her to leave. Tonight had been the most fun he's had in a long time.

It was like Anna read his mind. "You have to be back in FBI land bright and early, don't you?"

Spencer nodded.

Anna sighed. "Well I guess I'll go then." Anna stood and picked up her purse. Spencer stood and felt like he should say something. _C'mon say something, anything!_

"I... I had a really great time tonight Anna." He managed to blurt out.

Anna stopped and looked up at him. The smile in her eyes had been replaced with something else: fear, doubt, and worry. "Did you have a good enough time to see me again?" Her voice suddenly got a little angry. "Because I am sick of being the girl that guys kiss and diss. So if you're just going to walk away later just tell m-" Her sentence was interrupted when Spencer's lips came crashing down on her own. He pulled away from the kiss and looked her in the eye.

"Are you crazy? Why would I do that to you?" His lips turned into a smile and Anna was soon smiling back. He could see her build herself back up. Her confidence was stripped away in one moment of fear and doubt, but like magic it was renewed again.

"I was hoping you would say that." Anna laughed lightly and backed away. She had her shoes on and her purse in no time. Spencer just stood and watched her move, as if he was experiencing a contact high. When she was ready to leave, Spencer walked her to the door. They lingered at the door, both smiling, neither speaking.

Finally Anna spoke. "Thank you for letting me hang out here tonight. I had a great time."

"I had a great time as well. Can I call you later?"

Anna smiled. "Of course. Bye Spencer."

"Bye Anna."

Anna walked out the door and Spencer shut it behind her. As soon as her footsteps disappeared Spencer leaned against the door and let out a sigh of relief. The smile on his face was a mile wide and his knees felt weak.

_Do I… Do I have a girlfriend?_


	5. The Photographs

**Author's Note:** _Thank you Thank you Thank you everyone who has favorite and reviewed this story. I was too lazy to read through it with my editor's eye so if you see any major spelling or wording mistakes let me know. Laziness wins over Spelling/Grammar _

_Remember: Reviews = Love_

_This chapter takes place during the episode "Zoe's Reprise"_

--*---*---*--

Three weeks had passed since a lightning bolt struck a transformer in a residential part of Washington D.C. and blacked out a six block radius. Three weeks had gone by since a girl and her boyfriend got into a fight, causing the girl's roommate to vacate the area.

Three beautiful weeks since Doctor Spencer Reid, prodigy and genius, got a girlfriend.

After the night of the blackout Spencer was called to a case in California where a man dubbed the "Road Warrior" had begun going around blowing women's heads off with a shotgun. He was reluctant to leave Anna so suddenly, but she understood that he didn't have the most stable job in the world. He went away to California for a couple days and while he was gone, Anna drowned herself in schoolwork and extra work hours to make sure she thought of Spencer as little as possible. Because the less she thought of him, the less she missed him. He arrived home days later to find Anna sitting in front of his door with Chinese food and extra candles.

Since then, every time he goes away and comes home, Anna has been there. No matter what time of day or night she makes sure she is the first person he talks to after being gone. They eat Chinese food and sit on Spencer's couch and avoid any topic that has to do with death or serial killers. After being surrounded by violence and evil for days, Anna was Spencer's solace. They would just sit and talk for hours on end. In those three weeks they learned more about each other than most people learn in three years.

Spencer revealed the absence of his father most of his life and even talked about his mother sometimes. Though he still didn't have the courage to bring up his mother's illness. Anna revealed she had a brother and her mother was dead. But she revealed nothing about how she died. They began to know each other better than their closest friends did. Not because they felt obligated to, but because they just enjoyed knowing each other. Every time he went away for a case Anna made him promise to her that they would hang out as soon as he got back, because secretly it was a promise between them that he would be coming back at all.

Three weeks after the blackout, Reid was again called out of state for a case. This time his destination was Cleveland, Ohio. This case was particularly strange because it seemed to be a copycat. But this particular copycat didn't just copy one serial killer. He seemed to be going through the most popular ones like some sort of list; until he ended up killing a young criminology student who had attended Rossi's lecture in Cleveland. The girl was convinced there was a serial killer in Cleveland but no one had taken her seriously until Rossi was approached by the young girl and then later killed. The rest of the BAU was flown to Cleveland immediately, and Reid was forced to leave Anna once more.

Hotch, Prentiss, Morgan, JJ and Reid all walked through the front doors of the Cleveland police department. Reid carried a box filled with all of the evidence compiled thus far, including pictures of the victims and crime scenes.

Rossi was quick to greet them. "Guys. We're in that back room. Coffee's brewing."

Reid piped up. "We'll get started on the evidence board."

"Detective Brady's our point. I'll let you all introduce yourselves." He motioned to the back room and the team went to go set up.

Detective Brady greeted them all in turn when they got in the room and Hotch introduced the team. Prentiss and Reid began taking pictures out of the box and taping them to the evidence board as Hotch talked.

"I know it may seem farfetched, but copycat killers are not entirely uncommon." Hotch explained.

"This one happens to be copying several different serial killers." Morgan added.

Detective Brady looked dubious. "But if he's trying to be the Butcher of Kingsbury Run, why didn't he cut and mutilate the victims like the real one?"

Prentiss stopped taping for a moment. "That was seven weeks ago, he's just getting started. Beginning killers are often frightened with the crime itself and are more interested in getting it over with as quickly as possible and fleeing the scene."

"He was just using the Butcher's ruse as a way to lure the victim to be alone with them." Morgan said.

Emily spoke. "By the time he killed Kayla James three days ago he'd progressed. He came very close to copying all of the BTK's MO."

"He's reading, learning and borrowing from other because he doesn't know who he is yet." Reid added.

Derek looked to Detective Brady, "And because of this we think he's young and impressionable. Maybe even a student."

Reid stopped taping and spoke. "Probably someone enrolled in criminology classes. Our technical analyst is going through names of local students right now."

"Up to this point changing his MO has prevented law enforcement from linking his crimes, which is why we need to work quickly." Hotch said.

Detective Brady looked bewildered. "You're sure about this?"

"It's not a coincidence that all of these random violent murders in a localized area are copies of serial killers." Emily added.

Hotch looked very seriously at Detective Brady "It's as if all of the worst serial killers have converged on Cleveland. Every time he plans to kill the murder weapon, the MO, and the victimology will all change."

Detective Brady's eyes widened in fear.

--*---*---*--

Six hours later, Reid was heading up the elevator to his hotel room. It was around midnight and he was in the elevator by himself. The rest of the team had gone on before him but he had stayed a little longer to examine the newest crime scene for anything new. He had only been in Cleveland six hours and he's already been to two crime scenes, saw one dead body, and has delivered the profile of a young serial killer to a room full of worried police officers. _Just another day in the BAU_.

The elevator opened on the 7th floor and Reid stepped out with his bags. He had his usual go bag and his messenger bag slung across his chest. He needed to get in his hotel room and get the few hours of sleep he needed to function. He walked a ways down the hall and stopped at his room. Each team member got a room to themselves. He took out the key card from his pocket and swiped it in the door handle until the little light flashed green. He picked up his bag and with his spare hand opened the door.

The door swung open to reveal a modest hotel room. Reid stopped suddenly and dropped his bags and his hand instinctively went to his gun. Someone was in the bathroom. The light was on, he could see it under the door and someone was in there running water. Reid prepared himself. He pulled out his gun and held it slightly down. He turned the knob to the bathroom door and slowly opened it. He pushed it open quickly to reveal...

"Anna?" Spencer said incredulously.

Anna was standing in the bathroom dressed in pajama pants and a tank top, washing her hands in the sink. She jumped and gave a little yip when Spencer opened the door. Her face broke into a smile when she realized it was Spencer, but the smile faded at the sight of the gun.

Her eyes were tinted with fear, but she tried to sound confident. "What are you going to do? Shoot me?" She put a hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows.

Spencer immediately holstered the gun. His voice was stuttering and nervous. "No... no of course not. What in… What are you doing here Anna?" It's not that Spencer wasn't happy to see Anna, he was always happy to see Anna. It was just the fact that she was standing in the bathroom of his hotel room in Cleveland, Ohio.

Anna just smiled and gently pushed her way past Spencer into the bedroom. "Can't you just be happy to see me?" She shut the door that Spencer had left open and made her way to her laptop, which she had set up on the bed. She sat on the bed and crossed her legs Indian style and looked up at Spencer.

Spencer was still stuttering and extremely confused. "Of course I'm happy to see you. But, why are you here, and how did you get in?" He stood in front of Anna and ran a hand through his hair. He was kind of overreacting.

"I came to see you of course." She spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I told one of the maids that I was staying here with you and I left my key card in the hotel room. I'm quite the actress when I need to be." She seemed kind of proud of herself, but Spencer wasn't amused. He began pacing.

"If Hotch knows you're here then we'll both get in trouble. If he thinks you're distracting me from the case…" Spencer let the sentence hang there. What would Hotch do? He couldn't force Reid to break up with Anna, but he could make her leave the hotel or go home. Hotch wasn't mean, but he knew more than anyone that the entire team needed all of their focus on this case.

Anna stood and walked to Spencer. She stood perilously close and looked up to Spencer. She was one of those girls that could command your attention even if you were eight feet tall. Her eyes had power. She slid her right hand into his left. The touch of her skin felt like electricity. They were still in that early stage of dating that every touch was new and exciting. Her face was serious. "I am not here to distract you from your case. While you're still working, you won't even know I'm here. But once you're done I'd like to spend some time with you. I know how important this job is to you, and to everyone being plagued by this killer. I understand that more than anyone."

Spencer shook his head. "Why would you come to Cleveland while we were still working? You know there's a serial killer out there. Why would you intentionally put yourself at risk?"

Anna sighed in frustration. "I was as cautious as possible. I didn't go anywhere by myself, I travelled during the day, I didn't go into any dark alleys or talk to any strangers." Anna stepped back. "Do you really think I would be careless on my way here?" The way Spencer looked at her told her he didn't believe she was as cautious as possible. She put a hand on her hip and sighed. "You know, for a genius, you're pretty stupid."

Even in pajama pants with little polka-dots on them, she still demanded attention and respect. She was negotiating with Spencer, but the way she did it was almost cruel. The way she stood and spoke could have made King Midas give away all of his gold in a heartbeat. The slight anger Spencer had along with the worry ran out of him like the receding tide.

Spencer let out a sigh. He couldn't argue with her. When her resolve was set like this, the best he could do was bargain. "Fine. Just don't let any of the team see you. And as long as this unsub is still out there, you're not going to leave the hotel." Spencer's voice was firm, a rare treat for anyone who's known him.

Anna smiled and her seriousness ebbed away. The light shone in her eyes again. "Deal." She reached a hand out and put it on the back of Spencer's neck. I one swift motion she pulled down his head until his lips met hers in a heated kiss. She pulled away from the kiss and smiled.

Spencer chuckled and shook his head. "I thought you weren't here to distract me."

Laughter danced behind her eyes on and her lips. "Oops." She released the back of Spencer's neck and stepped away from him. Without another word Anna backed away and sat on the bed. She crossed her legs and sat in front of her laptop like she was going to do work. She glanced at Spencer and made a hand motion like she was zipping her lips. Spencer just smiled.

Suddenly the feeling of how tired he was swept over him. He needed to get some sleep. This unsub was getting more and more insatiable and violent with his kills. Hopefully when he woke up, there wouldn't be another body. Spencer grabbed his bag and went to the bathroom to change. He changed into some pajama pants and a t-shirt. When he was done cleaning up for bed he went back into the room to find Anna sitting on the bed.

The covers were drawn over her legs and her laptop sat on top of them. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and she was typing something on the laptop. She seemed to be trying her hardest to ignore Spencer. Spencer smiled when he saw her but then he remembered something. He wanted to look through the file one more time before he went to bed. He took the contents of the file out from his bag and sat next to Anna on the bed. She kept typing as if he weren't there. He took out a few of the papers and laid them on the bed. Anna's eyes travelled to the pictures but went back to her work when Spencer noticed she was looking.

Spencer read through everything two more times before deciding that there was nothing more to discern tonight. He glanced over at the computer screen and saw pictures of a room on Anna's computer. They were strange shots. One was a cigarette butt, the other was a chair. They looked like crime scene photos. She would flip through one or two and then type something in a separate window. Spencer watched with curiosity for a while. Finally he couldn't take not knowing and spoke up. "What are the crime scene photos for?"

Anna glanced at him and smiled. She looked back to her work as she spoke. 'They're part of my final project. Our professor set up a crime scene for us. We have to find all of the evidence, catalogue it, create a timeline, and describe the crime committed. We have nothing more to work with than a 911 call and a very vague witness statement." She clicked through a couple more photos. "We had to take all of the pictures ourselves. We are working as a one person team. Our job isn't to figure out who did it, but what was done and what we can use to catch them." She kept clicking through photos until she passed one that wasn't a crime scene.

She tried to close the window but Spencer put a hand on her and prevented it. "Wait, wait what's that?" Looking closer he found it was a picture of The Industry. Spencer smiled. "It's The Industry. Why do you have a picture of The Industry?" Anna didn't answer but instead kept clicking through pictures. There was a picture of the library, a park, a house in the snow, a field and then…

"My apartment building?" He asked. His brows were furrowed together in confusion.

Anna nodded. "I take pictures of the places and the things I value most. If you take a picture of something then you're freezing a moment in time. The places may change and the objects may be gone, but in these pictures they are exactly as I remember them." She looked to Spencer and locked eyes with him. "And I can look at them and live in these moments forever." Still looking Spencer in the eyes she clicked again and the picture changed. Her lips turned into a smile and Spencer looked at the screen.

It was a picture of him. It was black and white and it was a close up shot of his face. He was looking down at something and his brows were furrowed like he was thinking. His hand was on his chin. It was a beautiful black and white shot. But it looked just like Anna had described it: A moment captured in time.

Spencer looked to Anna. "When did you take this?"

Anna looked at the picture. "That day we went to the park for lunch and you played a game of chess with that teenager. He stumped you, once, for about six seconds and I caught it when you weren't looking." Anna laughed at the goofy smile on Spencer's face.

He was amazed that she cared enough to catch the only moment in that entire chess game where he actually had to think harder than usual. Spencer leaned forward and kissed Anna lightly on the cheek. "Thank you"

Anna tilted her head. "For what?"

"For freezing that moment." Spencer stated.

Anna chuckled. "You're welcome."

Spencer smiled and leaned away from Anna. He cleared up the file and put it back into his bag. Ten minutes later, the two settled down for bed and fell asleep.

Spencer awoke to the sound of his cell phone alarm ringing. He groggily turned it off and turned over in the bed. Lying next to him was Anna. Since he had been rented a single room, he only had one bed so they were forced to share it for the night. Anna didn't seem uncomfortable with it, which made Spencer think that she had done this sort of thing before. Spencer was too tired to really care when he went to sleep last night, but now his insides were turning with nervousness. Anna lay on the pillow, her black hair covering a portion of her face. Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted slightly. Spencer watched her for a moment until she shifted in her sleep and he quickly looked away.

Spencer got out of bed as quickly and quietly as possible and grabbed his bag to bar himself in the bathroom. He took a shower and dressed. When he emerged from the bathroom, Anna was awake and she was lying in bed watching the TV turned as low as it could be while still being audible. Spencer walked out and was about to greet her when she put a finger to her lips. Spencer stopped and he could hear voices in the hallway. The team was gathering outside and Anna was making sure they didn't know she was there. Spencer quickly gathered up the things he needed to work, along with his gun and badge. Without talking Anna got up and walked to the bathroom. As she passed Spencer gave her a silent kiss on the forehead. Anna smiled and snuck into the bathroom, without turning the light on.

Spencer opened the door into the hallway and exited the room. He greeted the rest of the team with more of a smile than was necessary. Morgan gave him a strange look, but let it pass. They all walked together to the elevator, to start another day in search of this killer.

--*---*---*--

It was nighttime when Reid and the rest of the team got the call from Garcia that they had a viable suspect and a warrant to search his home. They assembled and worked like soldiers preparing for battle. Within minutes they were on their way.

In the car they talked to Garcia on speakerphone. "The coroner found trace amounts of saliva on Zoe's forehead. They had enough for a DNA sample so they ran it and found a match to Eric Ryan Olson. 23, Cleveland native, did two and a half years for attempted sexual assault and was paroled six months ago. He enrolled in independent correspondent studies while in the slammer for criminology."

Derek spoke into the mouthpiece. "Thanks baby girl. Talk to ya when we get out."

Garcia's voice came through. "Stay safe my lovelies." Before Derek hung up.

Bulletproof vests were passed around as the police assembled and they prepared to go in. Rossi led the train of agents and officers inside Eric's home, but they found no one was there. Shouts of "clear" echoed throughout the apartment. Hotch turned to Reid and pointed to the laptop on the table. "Reid, check the computer." He turned to Detective Brady and spoke. "Detective we should talk to the neighbors. Find out where he goes, where he might be on a weeknight."

Rossi spoke up. "Aaron, he's reading my books." His face looked mildly horrified.

Reid continued looking through Olson's laptop for anything useful. Hotch and Rossi began looking through his room for a calendar of some sort but found nothing. They came back to the living room and Hotch spoke. "Reid, anything?" Reid continued through the laptop until he found a day planner there. He clicked on today's date and a name came up.

Detective Brady read it. "Al's Alehouse, that's like a mile away."

Reid looked up. "It's on his schedule for tonight."

Detective Brady, Hotch, and Rossi got up and started leaving the apartment. Reid began to follow them but Hotch called out to him. "Reid I need you to stay here and find anything else that'll tell us anything useful." Reid nodded and stayed behind.

While the others were gone Reid started going through his computer. Everything seemed to be research on serial killers. Every website in his history was dedicated to the study of serial killers. Reid looked back in his documents and found little else useful. Reid found a folder on his desktop that was simply labeled 'pictures'. He clicked on it and found pictures of random places: parks, bridges, and creeks. Reid recognized a couple as the crime scenes where the murders took place, but he didn't recognize all of them.

Reid got a phone call from Morgan telling him that they'd caught Olson and his girlfriend about to have sex in some park. They were both in interrogation. Reid continued to look throughout the house. Nothing useful came up though. There were no murder weapons, no lists, no anything.

He got a phone call from Hotch. "Reid I need something, anything, that will tell us where he was patrolling for new victims."

Reid walked into a hallway. "We've been through everything."

Hotch sounded almost frantic. "He marked up Rossi's books. Check the bookcase. See if he was scouting any places to commit more murders."

Reid walked through the hallway and stopped. There were pictures framed on the wall of random places. Reid recognized them as the same ones that were on his computer. Reid looked back and saw that there was nothing else framed on the walls except these. "Pictures…"

"What?" Hotch asked.

Suddenly Reid remembered something. Something that Anna had said last night.

"_The places may change and the objects may be gone, but in these pictures they are exactly as I remember them." She looked to Spencer and locked eyes with him. "And I can look at them and live in these moments…"_

"…forever." Reid mumbled.

"What is it?" Hotch asked again.

Reid picked up a frame off the wall. "Hold on, I'll call you back."

Reid took all of the pictures off the wall and walked into the living room where the laptop was. He laid them all out on the coffee table and brought up the folder where his pictures were kept. He went through them and matched the framed pictures to the ones on his computer. He immediately called Hotch back.

"Yeah Reid." Was all Hotch said.

"I found pictures on his computer in a special folder he created. They're scenic places in the city. Three of them I recognized from his crime scenes. But there are more pictures of places I don't recognize." Reid relayed the information to Hotch.

"E-mail them as quick as you can." Hotch said.

"Alright." Reid hung up the phone.

Reid attached all of the pictures to an e-mail and sent them to Hotch's phone. Reid looked through the rest of the apartment with the police one more time before concluding they couldn't find anything more. Reid left the police to clean up as he went outside and got on his phone. He dialed Anna's cell phone number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hey Spencer. What's up?" Anna's voice sounded cheery.

"Thank you Anna." He said simply.

She sounded confused. "For what?"

"I'll explain later. Just… thank you." He said finally.

Anna laughed. "You're welcome, I guess."

Spencer smiled. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Anna spoke. "Bye."

Spencer hung up the phone and went to the last car that wasn't a squad car. He was going to go back to the Cleveland PD.

Three hours later, the case was officially out of BAU hands. Now it was up to the local PD and prosecutors to make sure Olson went to jail for a very long time.

It was close to 1 a.m. when Spencer arrived in the hotel. He made a beeline straight for his room and only gave the briefest of good jobs and goodnights to the team. He opened the door to his hotel room and shut it quickly behind him. All of the lights were off except for the bathroom light. Anna was snuggled under the covers, already asleep. Spencer was as quiet as possible when he shut the door. He put his gun and his badge away in a drawer and tip toed to where Anna was sleeping. He sat on the bed next to Anna and touched her arm. "Anna." He said quietly.

Anna stirred and turned over to face Spencer. Her sleepy eyes blinked and her lips turned into a lazy smile. "Hey." Her voice was groggy from sleep, but she ran a hand through her hair and tried to sit up.

Spencer smiled and spoke. "I'm back. The case is over."

Anna smiled. "Did you guys catch the bad guy?"

Spencer nodded and Anna sat up a little bit more. She seemed to be slowly waking up.

"Don't get up, go back to sleep. I just wanted to let you know I was back." Spencer just wanted to let Anna know he was okay. He didn't mean to wake her up.

"I'm fine." Anna looked out the window at the glowing city and smiled. Her sleep addled brain got an idea. "Hey. We should go to that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame place." She looked up at Spencer. "Or we could just rummage around Cleveland for something fun to do."

Spencer sighed. "I'm supposed to go back with the rest of the team in the morning." His tone was disappointed.

Anna got up on her knees and scooted closer to Spencer. She raised herself so she was standing on her knees very close to Spencer. Her face was slightly higher than his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Spencer took his hands and lightly rested them on her waist. "C'mon Spencer. Take a day off. We'll go out to dinner or see a movie or something. We can forget about D.C and school and work and just have one day completely to ourselves." She brought her face tantalizingly close to Spencer's, without actually touching it.

Spencer wanted to argue. He wanted to deny her and say no. But he couldn't. So close together he could feel her breathing on him and her words made sense. He knew in some deep dark part of his brain that he was being seduced, but Spencer was surprised how little he cared. Spencer removed one of his hands from Anna's waist and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He dialed Hotch's number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hotchner." Hotch sounded kind of sleepy.

"Hey Hotch. I think I've decided to stay in Cleveland for an extra day or two." Anna smiled as Spencer spoke.

"Why?"

"I would really like to see the Rock and roll Hall of Fame." Spencer smiled at Anna.

"Reid, you hate rock and roll." Hotch sounded suspicious.

"I have never said I hated it." Spencer defended.

Hotch sighed. "You said it was useless and unentertaining."

"Well I've just recently realized the use. I'd really like to go." Anna sat back on the bed and watched as Spencer negotiated his freedom.

"Fine Reid. Be back by Thursday. Have fun." Hotch hung up and Spencer smiled.

He looked to Anna. "Know any good places to eat in Cleveland?"

Anna laughed and then yawned. "If we're going to be running around tomorrow then we should get some sleep. It's already past 1." She lay back down on the bed with a smile on her face and sighed. "No D.C., no work, no school…" She looked up at Spencer. "It's gonna be great."


	6. Valuable: Part 1

_So I'm back! Had to take a little break, but now I'm back and I'm swinging. Thanks for everyone who's continued to review and subscribe in my absence. I love you all!!!! _

_This is an entirely original episode of my own making. After my little break I decided to switch it up a little. Hope you like it and I hope you can forgive me for being gone for so long_. _Review please!! I love reviews!!_

_This episode takes place after "Roadkill"._

--*---*---*--

For what seemed like the millionth time, a tall young man with wavy brown hair that just touched his shoulders walked up the stairs to his apartment in the middle of the night. Over the last eight weeks his hair had grown much more than he would have normally liked, but nowadays he didn't mind. His girlfriend Anna liked him with long hair.

_My girlfriend Anna. _He thought blissfully. It had been eight weeks since Anna and himself had officially become a couple. It was a strange thing at first. Spencer was so used to being a solitary animal it fazed him that he had someone to call once he got home after cases. He loved it though. When he spoke, Anna listened. He let the ramblings of his brain out into the world and Anna was always there to receive them. In return, Spencer gave Anna save haven away from the chaos that was her life. He soon learned while he was away on cases, Anna was her busiest. Half was because being busy made her not miss him so much, half was because that was just the way her life ran. She went to school, held up a job and juggled an internship in the forensics department of the FBI. But she didn't feel the pressures of the world around Spencer. He accepted her exactly as she was without and expectations or pressures, except when she truly needed it. They brought out things in each other that only went on when the two of them were alone. Spencer found it hard to stand up to people on his own, but when he was with Anna he was at his most confident. Anna spent her life rushing from one urgency to the other, but around Spencer she could fully relax. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

Spencer had never been happier.

Spencer went away for days at a time to places all around the country. His life was one go bag to the next. But every single time he was able to come home and find Anna sitting in front of his door, waiting. He reached the floor that his apartment resided on and looked down the hall to find Anna….not there? Where was she? Spencer looked behind him, half expecting the raven haired girl to come bounding up the stairs to beat him to his own door. But no such luck. He sighed._ Maybe there was an accident on the highway again and she's stuck in traffic. Yeah that's it._ It was much more plausible that Anna was stuck in traffic than the thought she missed his text that stated he was almost home. He always called her right before the flight and texted her right when the flight landed so she knew to meet him at home. Always.

Spencer made his way to the door to his apartment and set down his bag. He fished in his pocket for his keys and when he found them he put the appropriate one in the lock. He turned the key in the lock and found no resistance whatsoever. His brows furrowed. He turned the key again at a different angle and felt the familiar resistance of the tumblers moving and the lock unlocking. It was an old apartment building. Maybe the locks were finally giving way. He made a mental note of getting those fixed before turning the door knob and pushing open the door. He picked up his bag and walked down the dark hallway. He reached out to turn on the light in the hall but the light wouldn't turn on. He furrowed his brows again. _Is everything going to break on me today?_ He shook his head. In his tiredness he really didn't care at this point. He wanted to go into the living room and collapse on the couch until Anna got there. He rubbed his eyes and walked down the hallway towards the living room. Maybe if he hadn't been so tired, he would have noticed the flicker of fire in the living room.

Spencer walked into the living room and suddenly the moving light hit his eyes and they widened. Thirty tea light candles flickered all around his living room. They sat everywhere. On top of his TV, on his desk, on his coffee table, on his two tables next to the couch. They moved and danced and filled the room with a warm glow and the smell of peppermint. His eyes travelled around the room in wonderment. _Am I dreaming?_ He eyes finally settled on the couch where Anna sat with a pleasant smile on her face like the cat that got the cream. Anna had also let her hair grow out in the two months they had been dating. Her straight black hair now hung a few inches past her shoulders. Her cerulean eyes glittered in the candlelight and she stood from the couch. Her form was slim, but lightly curved. She wore worn jeans and an oversized navy blue sweatshirt with the FBI emblem over the heart. Spencer's sweatshirt to be exact. Other than being dry, she was the mirror image of the night the power went out.

Spencer's face lit up like only Anna could make it. He dropped his bag and could only watch as Anna made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Almost instinctively he wrapped his arms around her waist. When words finally came to him he stuttered.

"Wha- what's all this for?"

Anna smiled. "Two months ago today, the lights went out and we shared our first kiss. I just thought a little trip down memory lane would be fun."

Spencer cocked his head to the side and smiled. "Actually you're one day off. It won't be two months until tomorrow."

Anna shook her head. "No way. Check your watch genius. It's past midnight."

Spencer looked briefly at his watch and shrugged. "So it is. I was mistaken. But you can't blame me when I have a beautiful woman in my arms."

Anna smiled and that look alone could have lit the room better than a million candles. Spencer would never say something so bold to anyone except Anna. Anna moved her hands so that one of them was on the back of Spencer's neck. He didn't have to be a genius to know that she did this so she could pull his face down to meet hers. He bent forward and met her lips with his in a light kiss. Anna smiled against his lips and moved to pull him towards the couch. Her hands moved from his neck and down his chest. She kept backing up with Spencer until her hand brushed something cold and metallic. Suddenly Anna pulled away and gasped like she had been burned. She had accidentally touched Spencer's gun.

"Take the gun off." She snapped. Her voice was fearful and angry.

Spencer looked down at his hip and sighed. Anna hated the gun. Every time he wore it around her or accidentally touched it, she reacted like it was coated with poison. Spencer would understand if it were a general dislike or fear of guns. They're dangerous and most people don't like them. But Anna had a downright phobia of guns. He took the holster with the gun inside and detached them from his belt. He walked over to the drawer of one of the side tables and put it away. He looked over at Anna. Her right hand was stroking her left arm in a gesture of discomfort. She had fear in her eyes but it was also anger. Spencer knew from experience that things that scared her only made her angry because she thought fear made her weak. Spencer had inquired about her fear of guns before, but could never get a straight answer. Once the gun was safely put away, she relaxed slightly. But the remnants of the fear still clung to her like sweat. Anna took a breath and tried to compose herself like the moment had never happened. She shook her head and spoke.

"Now Dr. Reid, if you'll just join me on the couch." She smiled lightly and moved her way towards the couch and sat down. Her lips smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Spencer approached Anna and sat down next to her on the couch. His voice was soft and gentle. "Anna, what is it with you and guns? Why do they scare you so much?"

Anna looked away and the smiled disappeared. "I've told you. I just don't like them. They're dangerous." But just in the way she spoke, Spencer could tell she was lying.

Spencer's curiosity could not be staved off any longer. He had to know. "Anna you're lying. I can see it. Something's wrong. Did something happen to you and a gun?"

Anna suddenly got up from the couch. Anger burned in her eyes. "Don't you dare profile me, Spencer."

"Did someone threaten you when you were younger?"

Anna clenched her fists. "Stop it Spencer. Don't push this." Her voice was slowly growing in volume.

"Did someone you know get shot?"

Anna practically shouted at Spencer. "My mother was shot and killed when I was seven." Spencer was silent in his own astonishment. Anna's anger remained and every word was like a hot prick on his skin. "Is that what you wanted to hear? Did you really want to know that badly?"

Spencer tried speaking but she cut him off. "No. You wanted to know so bad, here it is. Someone put a fucking bullet through my mother's brain and I was the one who walked in and saw her lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood." Anna was shouting by now and rage and pain flashed across her face. Spencer had never seen her so angry before.

Anna took a breath and her voice quieted, but it was still harsh. "Glad you know now?"

She walked over to the coffee table and picked up her purse. She grabbed her shoes and didn't even bother putting them on and headed towards the door. Spencer got up and followed her. Words failed him and he started stuttering.

"Anna!" was all he was able to get out before she reached the door. He got into the hallway just as the door was slammed shut.

Anna ran down the hallway a fast as her feet would carry her. She ran down the stairs and outside into the cool air. She kept running until she was a block away and she turned herself into an alley. Anna was breathing heavily and she leaned against the brick wall of a building. She slid silently down the wall and it was only then she let the first tears run down her cheeks. She had ran because the pain of reliving her mother's death was painful enough to bring tears to her eyes; and she would never cry in front of Spencer. Never. Even if it meant running forever. Anna was strong. She didn't cry. The wet lines down her face begged to differ, but she ignored them. It took her a few minutes but eventually the tears stopped flowing and she put on her shoes. She walked the block back to her car and headed for home. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she looked at the caller ID. It was Spencer. She pressed the ignore button and sighed. She didn't feel like talking to Spencer right now.

Back in the apartment Spencer tried futilely to call Anna, but she kept ignoring his calls. He sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. _What the hell was I thinking? Why did I push her like that?_ Spencer Reid was a genius, no one could argue that. Only sometimes he felt almost like it was his right to know everything. Now he just felt like an ass. Just because of his stupid overwhelming curiosity he pushed Anna away. He only prayed it wasn't for good.

Spencer heard his phone ring from his hand and he answered it without looking.

"Hello?"

"Reid. You need to get over to Quantico now." It was the deep voice of Derek Morgan.

"Morgan? What's wrong?"

"Chief Strauss's son was kidnapped. The kidnapper left some sort of note. I'm on my way back now. It sounds bad Reid."

"I'm on my way."

Reid was on his feet the second he heard the word "kidnapped". He grabbed his gun from the drawer and was out the door and down the hall in seconds. Whatever was going on with Anna and him were going to have to wait. If Section Chief Strauss's son was kidnapped, that meant the entire section would be going crazy over this. Someone had poked the bees nest and now everyone was getting called in. Reid made his way down the stairs and out the door. He was in his car as quick as he could possibly go. They had precious little time. _Of abducted children who are ultimately murdered, 74 percent are dead within three hours of the abduction._

Reid sped up his car.

--*---*---*--

Reid arrived at Quantico to find the place surprisingly quiet. It wasn't the chaos that he had expected. JJ stepped out of her office and was walking towards the conference room with a file in her hand. She spotted him and spoke in a hurried tone.

"C'mon Reid. Conference room."

Reid followed JJ into the conference room where the rest of the team was already seated. Everyone looked tired and tense. He sat silently between Prentiss and Rossi. Hotchner paced the room as JJ approached them, remote in hand. She clicked the remote and the face of a twelve year old blond boy with blue eyes came on the screen.

"Six hours ago, Michael Strauss was abducted from his home in downtown DC. His parents were out at a restaurant at the time of the abduction. His two sisters Patricia (sixteen) and Natalie (nineteen) were supposed to be watching him while the parents were away."

She clicked the remote again and the picture changed. Two young girls, also blond, lie dead on the floor with their hands bound behind their backs. Bruises lined their necks and their mouths were duct taped.

"The unsub bound and gagged Michaels sisters and strangled them to death. Time of death was just after six this evening. Finger shaped bruises suggest he strangled them with his hands. He also left a note on the living room coffee table."

JJ clicked again and the picture of the dead girls disappeared and was replaced with the scan of a handwritten letter. Spencer read it out loud.

"They were not worthy of my collection." That was it. Nothing more than that one sentence.

"He's making an excuse. It's a sign of remorse." Prentiss spoke up.

"But what is this 'collection'? What is he collecting?" Rossi asked.

"People?" JJ posited.

"Children?" Prentiss questioned.

"Well whatever it is we have to figure it out. We know he's collecting something, we just don't know what. Garcia, I want you to look up abductions and murders with the same MO. He's got a collection going; he has to have more victims somewhere. Pay close attention to the strangling. It's a very personal way to kill. Prentiss, Morgan, go to the home and see what you can gather from there. I want a timeline of what happened while the Strauss's were out to dinner. Rossi and I will go gather statements from Chief Strauss and her husband. Reid, I want you to go over the note and see if you can get anything from that. Start building a geographical profile of any victims Garcia comes up with. Chief Strauss is putting all of her faith in us right now. We just have to make sure this guy doesn't add to his collection."

Hotch nodded to the team and walked out of the conference room, Rossi in tow. The rest of the room scattered off to do their respective jobs. But frankly they didn't have much to work on. They had three victims in one crime scene. Not much for victimology or anything else.

--*---*---*--

Miles away, a raven haired young woman pulled into the driveway of her small home she shared with her roommate, Kim. There were no sounds from inside the house so the young woman assumed Kim was done arguing with her boyfriend for the night. She took her keys from her purse and slipped the key into the front door lock. It turned silently and she swung open the door into the dark living room. She reached over to the wall and flipped the switch and the living room light flickered to life. A shadow moved on the other side of the room and a small orange tabby cat emerged from behind the couch. She meowed softly and the young woman bent down to pet her.

"Hello Artemis."

The young woman smiled. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and they young woman could feel a presence behind her. She turned as quickly as she could, but it was too late. The last thing she felt was pain on the side of her head and then the world turned upside down. Just before she lost consciousness she heard a voice whisper.

"_Shhhh_ Go to sleep. Don't worry. I would never ruin a piece of my collection."

_To be continued....._


	7. Valuable: Part 2

**Author's Note:** _So this is part 2 of my original episode. I've decided to name this episode "Valuable" Thank you for the people that read part 1. I hope you like Part 2._

_P.S. I love reviews. They're my favourite. Please review!!!! _

**--*---*--*--**

_"Let mathematicians and geometricians  
talk of circles and triangles charms,  
The figure I prize is a girl with bright eyes,  
and the circle that's formed by her arms." –Anonymous_

Reid poured over that single sentence for thirty minutes or more but it was no use. He couldn't find any sense of what this unsub was thinking behind the text. But that in itself told him something. Graphic analysis of handwriting wasn't an exact science but it was pretty accurate. If nothing could be found within the text, then maybe there wasn't anything to find in the first place. He couldn't be sure without further study, but it was entirely possible that this unsub felt no emotion whatsoever. In that case, he represented a type of serial killer that is organized in thinking and a thrill seeker. The only real emotion he felt was in the hunt. He left a note. The content of the note seemed like an explanation or some sign of remorse but the handwriting told a different story. He didn't feel any remorse at all; he was just stating a fact. _They were not worthy of my collection. _

Reid taped the note on the whiteboard along with the pictures of Chief Strauss's children. He couldn't imagine how she must be feeling by now. She lost two of her children and one of them had a slim chance of coming back. It was harsh but true, and she knew the facts. Rarely children abducted by a psychopath ever got returned to their families. He wrote some words under the note. _Emotionless, Narcissistic, No remorse._ He tapped the marker against his chin and crossed his arms in thought. Too many possibilities, too little evidence. He shook his head. It was no use. He couldn't get anything more from the note right now. He decided he would go see Garcia and get a list of potential victims so they could start victimology and map out a geographical profile.

Reid made his way to Garcia's office and poked his head in. The blonde woman was typing away at her keyboard at a rapid pace. Her many screens reflected in her pink framed glasses and her eyes seemed to take it all in all at once. Reid was always impressed at the speed and accuracy in her work. He looked around at the many nick-knacks that decorated her workspace. Troll dolls, plastic flowers and fuzzy pens were just a fraction of the brightness she surrounded herself in. Reid tapped on the door frame to make himself known. He knew all too well how jumpy Garcia could get if you caught her off guard. He was about to greet her when the speaker phone on her desk sounded with the voice of Morgan.

"Hey Baby Girl. Got anything for me?"

She spoke while her lightning fast fingers buzzed across the keys. "Oh, have I got things for you honey." She spoke in a sultry and suggestive tone. She paused and giggled. "Oh, you mean about the case. I've got zero murders slash kidnappings that match this guy. So I went a little wider and just looked for just murders. Nada. There were plenty of strangulations but no bindings and no notes. I'm hitting dead end after dead end. You've got to hit me with some knowledge."

Morgan sighed. "We know this guy is a high risk taker. Out of all of the people in this city he went for the kids of a Section Chief in the FBI. That takes balls. Start with the kidnappings. High profile victims in nice neighbourhoods. He's also methodical and clean. It looked like the girls went down without a struggle and they were bound securely and cleanly. This was no amateur job. So rule out anything too messy."

Garcia typed furiously as Morgan spoke and Reid watched it all unfold, unable to add anything. She squinted her eyes for a second and the computer beeped. "In the last two weeks there have been two other kidnappings that match the high profile criteria."

Morgan's voice came through the phone. "How high profile?"

"In Virginia there were two kidnappings. One was the husband of the head of the Board of Education of Virginia, Maryanne Lockhart. The other was the daughter of Chief Justice Marcus Bauguess. The first was just over seven days ago, the second was about five."

"Widen the search Garcia. And check if there were any murders associated with the kidnappings."

She did some more clicking and her computer beeped again. "No murders associated with the kidnappings." She paused. "Wait a second. It says here that Justice Bauguess's pet Dalmatian was strangled to death. Why would he kill a dog?"

Reid piped up. "Maybe the dog got in his way. Dalmatians are good watch dogs and can weigh up to sixty pounds. If the Dalmatian got in his way, he would have to take it out."

Garcia frowned. "Poor doggie." The computer beeped again and Reid watched as a whole new list formed on the screen. Garcia paused and read and then a soft exclamation left her lips. "Oh man. I checked all of the neighbouring states for similar kidnappings and found ten. All of them turned up dead in some out of the way place a week after their kidnappings. But it looks like no more than two kidnappings happened in the same state."

Morgan spoke. "He's smart. Working over state lines to decrease his chances of anyone making a connection. Keep looking Garcia. Send me all of the case files you have so far on the existing kidnappings and help Reid put up a geographical profile."

"In thirty minutes or less or your order is free." Garcia chirped happily before hanging up. She printed out a sheet with all of the addresses of the kidnappings and the dump sites the bodies were found at afterwards. She snatched the paper from the printer and glided over to Reid on her spinny chair and put the paper in his hand. "Now shoo! I'll give you more as I get them."

Reid nodded and went back to the conference room.

**--*---*---*--**

_Movement. Pain. A voice. A man's voice. Pain. Fear. Sounds. Pain_

These thoughts brushed through the raven haired girl's mind as she tried to regain consciousness. She tried opening her eyes but found her eyelids were heavy. She wavered in and out of the real world, and into the hazy fog of unconsciousness. The only real thing was pain. A dull throbbing on the side of her head. But even that didn't seem solid. She felt ghostlike, without form. She couldn't form coherent thoughts or sentences. She groaned as she tried to open her eyes and faintly she heard a laugh ahead of her.

"Shh beautiful. Rest now. You'll be home soon enough."

She could hear the man's voice like it was close. The accent was clearly British. The raven haired girl was able to open her eyelids briefly but that was fruitless. Something cloth like covered her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered shut just before she passed out for the second time.

She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but when she woke up she got the feeling that she was being watched. This feeling was confirmed when she opened her eyes and saw the face of a man very close to her own. She jerked and tried to back away but found her hands were bound above her head. She had a moment of pure panic and she jerked against the shackles that held her wrists but they held firm. The man in front of her put out his hand and took her chin. She tried to turn away but he tightened his grip and forced her face to look at him. But instead of fear her eyes held anger. When Anna was backed against a wall, she wasn't the type of girl to hide. If something scared her, it angered her. The man looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties. He was bald with a strong face. His cold gray eyes were a mere couple of inches from her bright blue ones. A slight stubble coated his strong jaw and his lips turned into a wicked smile. She stared into those gray eyes and saw nothing human there. She imagined this was the look a lion gave a gazelle right before he gobbled it up. She jerked her head away from his grasp again and he let go with a slight chuckle.

"Looks like I've got myself a fighter. Haven't had one of those in a long time. I knew you were special Anna."

She faced him as he stuck a hand out to stroke her cheek. Anna tried to bite him but she couldn't turn her head fast enough. She ended up just nipping the skin on his hand. He pulled back and that wicked smile left his face and his eyes narrowed. He pulled back and backhanded her across the face. Hard. Anna's breathing quickened as she felt her face burn where he had hit her. He made a disapproving 'tsk tsk' sound and looked at Anna.

"Now love, that's just impolite. And I won't tolerate impoliteness."

He backed away and gave Anna full view of the room. It looked like they were in a basement of some kind. Her shackles were raised above her head with some sort of heavy duty chain attached to the rafters above. A few feet to her right another girl stood shackled just like Anna was. She had brown, shoulder length hair and she was limp, eyes closed. Her hair hung down across her face so Anna couldn't see who it was. To her left there was what looked to be a dog cage sitting in the corner. But inside of it there was a little boy that looked to be about eight or nine. He was awake, but he looked sick. He was very pale and his sky blue eyes looked glazed over, like he wasn't really seeing what was going on. Anna could see where the tears had dried on the pale boys face. This sight made Anna's heart lurch. She turned her attention back onto the bald man. She spoke. Her voice should have sounded scared or weak, but it didn't.

"What do you want?"

He chuckled again. The condescending noise made the hairs rise on the back of Anna's neck. "He thinks you're valuable. But I'm going to show him jut how little you are actually worth."

Anna's heart skipped a beat. "Who thinks I'm valuable?"

That wicked smile engulfed his features. "Dr. Reid, of course."

**--*---*---*--**

Reid put another mark on the map. Red marker for the kidnapping, blue marker for the dump site. He stepped back from the map and looked at the number of dots on the map. _Thirty four victims. Thirty four victims spanning all across the country_. He shook his head and pinned the last picture up on the cork board. They had run out of space on the white board so they moved most of the victims pictures to the cork boards. What was worse than the number of victims was the fact that he had been kidnapping them for well over three years. But he never did more than two in the same jurisdiction and for a while, he did those months apart. Until just recently he was doing at least one a month. Then in this most recent set he had kidnapped three in just under three weeks. He was getting more and more insatiable. Reid left the conference room and made his way to Garcia's office. He walked in and found her typing furiously, as usual.

"Anything else, Garcia?"

She looked up briefly and went back to typing. "Nope. That was the last one. I've checked every kidnapping turned murder in the last ten years and found a grand total of thirty four that match this guy."

Reid nodded. "Can you call the team back? They need to see this."

"Sure thing lover boy." She smiled and began dialing the phone.

Reid rolled his eyes and stepped out of Garcia's office and made his way into the conference room. She had started calling him that ever since he let it slip to JJ that he has a girlfriend. In her excitement she decided to tell everyone on the team and Garcia had insisted on calling him lover boy. He protested at first, but no one listened so he just ignored it now. They all treated him like a little brother. It was one of the reasons he hadn't let Anna meet anyone on the team. Except for Hotch, but that was sort of an accident. Anna had surprised Reid by showing up at the office when he was working late. Luckily it was only himself and Hotch in the office so late. She hung around the office and read while Reid finished his work. Hotch had caught sight of her and came to see who it was. They then went into a lengthy conversation that turned into Hotch subtly profiling Anna. She passed with flying colors because the next day Hotch mentioned liking Anna and he was proud of Reid for having a social life. But Reid wasn't too eager to have the others meet her. Hotch was fine because he treated Reid like an adult most of the time, but the others treated him like a kid and he didn't want them to say anything potentially embarrassing in front of Anna.

He sat down at the table and shook his head. _Focus on the case. Now is not the time to be thinking about her._ He took a breath and looked at the board with its thirty four faces staring back at him. He stood and gave the map another good look. The dots trailed across the map like some macabre connect the dots game. There was almost no way to make a complete geographical profile this way. He moved around too much. There was no way to determine where his comfort zone was and where he could be hiding, or planning to strike next. It was very frustrating. He was staring at the map, thinking when Hotch and Rossi entered behind him. Hotch spoke up behind him.

"What have you got Reid?" It was then he noticed how many dots were on the map and he stopped. "How many?" Morgan and Prentiss weren't far behind as they walked in the room.

"Thirty four. All ranging from California to Virginia. All happening in the last three years. Every victim has been associated with someone important in the government or law enforcement. Children, spouses, best friends. They were all kidnapped and then a week later killed and dumped within ten miles of their abduction site. In California the victims weren't of as high of social standing as the victims now. His first victim looks to be the son of a prominent police officer in the Los Angeles area."

Rossi spoke as JJ entered the room. "That's quite an escalation. He went from the on of a beat cop, to the son of a Chief section leader of the FBI. He's growing more confident."

Reid spoke. "Not only that, but his early kidnappings were months apart. Now he's down to three in a week. He's becoming more insatiable."

Prentiss looked at the drivers licenses on the wall. "But why does he keep them for a week? What does he do with them in that time?"

Hotch interjected. "Was there any sign on sexual assault?"

Reid looked at the wall. "On the females, yes. All of the males showed no signs of sexual assault but all were beaten so the point where they were hardly recognizable."

"It sounds like this guy is trying to damage them in the worst ways possible. He damages the females sexually and the males physically." Morgan added.

"What about the children?" Emily asked. JJ's phone rang and she picked it up and moved to the corner to talk.

"All of the children were severely malnourished at the time of death and they looked to be beaten, but not as badly as the adult males." Reid informed them.

"So he's destroying them all before their death. But why would he ruin the pieces of his 'collection'?" Rossi asked.

JJ approached the group. "We've got another kidnapping and murder. A female college student, 24 years old was kidnapped sometime last night and her roommate was bound, gagged and killed in the exact way the previous victims were."

Morgan spoke. "Who found them?"

"The killed girl's boyfriend." JJ responded.

Prentiss spoke. "How do they know there was a kidnapping?"

JJ looked to Emily. "Because the girl's purse was found on the living room floor, along with some blood." She shook her head. "What's weird though is that she doesn't seem to have any relation to anyone of important law enforcement or government standing."

"What's her name?" Morgan asked.

JJ looked at the note she had just written down. "Anna Belden."

Reid though he had hallucinated. His breathing hitched in his throat and his eyes widened in fear. _No. No, I must have heard that wrong._ But his ears knew what they had heard. Reid wavered dangerously where he stood and he suddenly felt dizzy. He grabbed the edge of the nearest chair and sat down. He immediately put his head in his hands and tried to concentrate on breathing.

Hotch, who was standing closest, saw the reaction first and he let out a concerned, "Reid. What's wrong?" He knelt down to Reid's level and looked at JJ and then back at Reid.

Reid could only speak quietly. "Anna… that's Anna's last name."

Hotch widened his eyes as he understood. "Anna. You mean your girlfriend?"

Reid could only nod as he raised his eyes to look at the rest of the team. Reid was pale and worry was painted on every feature. JJ quickly grabbed the remote and turned to the picture she was just sent. Anna's driver's license appeared on the screen and Reid's worst fear was realized. He buried his head in his hands and shook it over and over, trying to deny it all. He felt a hand on his shoulder and found it was Hotch's.

Morgan looked to Reid and then to JJ. "Well, we know why she was kidnapped."

**--*---*---*--**

Anna watched as the bald man hefted a large plastic covered shape over his shoulder and carried it up the basement steps. It was a body, Anna was sure of it. The bald man had smiled just before going to pick up the body and told them he was going to "finish some business with Mr. Lockhart." Anna kept her head down and her thoughts to herself as the bald man left the basement. As soon as she heard the sound of a car leaving Anna looked up and looked around the basement. There was nothing within a foots reach that she could grab. She looked at the girl next to her and spoke.

"Hey. Hey! Wake up."

The brown haired girl stirred and her head slowly rose. Her eyes were green but they were also dark and they had bags like she hadn't been sleeping. _I don't blame her for not sleeping. _The girl looked at Anna and it looked like her eyes weren't really seeing. Then she blinked and the girl focused. Her eyes widened and she sighed.

"So, he got you too, huh?" She said tiredly.

"Yeah. Who is this guy? What's your name? How long have you been here?"

"I'm Victoria. I don't know what his name is, but when he rapes you he'll make you call him master." Her voice was quiet but emotionless.

Anna instantly paled. "Wh- what do you mean…rape?"

She nodded solemnly. "Also when he gives you water. He'll make you beg for it." She looked up. "I think I've been here almost a week. But I can't remember." She looked to the boy in the cage. He was sleeping now. "That's Michael. He came in yesterday."

Anna kept her eyes on Victoria as tears slowly made their way down the brown haired girl's cheeks. Anna suddenly felt very bad for her. The things this man must have done to her. Ann spoke softly. "How old are you?"

Victoria sniffled and spoke. "Eighteen."

_Damn. Barely into adulthood and already been through so much. _Anna was amazed that in this situation, she had the capacity to feel sorry for another person other than herself. But she did. Anna looked up at her shackles and sighed. She tried jiggling and pulling to get her wrists free but they were too tight. She resorted to pulling and jerking but that only caused her pain.

"Stop it. You'll just cut yourself. The metal stings when it touches the cuts." Victoria said.

Anna looked up at Victoria's wrists and saw that little trickles of dried blood ran from the shackles. Anna sighed and looked down. "I can't just stand here and do nothing. We have to get out of here."

Victoria looked at Anna. "We're not getting out of here. In two days I'll be dead. And in seven so will you."

Anna furrowed her brows and looked at Victoria. "How do you know that?"

"Because Hank was here two days before me. Five days later and he's dead. He will break you, and then he'll kill you." Victoria looked away and began to quietly sob to herself. Anna shook her head and looked down. Victoria was already broken. Whatever this guy was doing, he could break a youthful young woman in less than five days. Anna took a breath and centered herself. When she opened her eyes again, she was more focused. She looked around and took in every detail of the basement. She was going to have to use her forensic training to look for details in the basement, and everything she's learned about profiling from Spencer. Spencer. _He'll know I'm missing by now. He'll have to be looking for me._ She felt ever so slightly better with this thought. In a situation like this there was no one she trusted more than Spencer. She looked back at Victoria who was still sobbing and that slightly better feeling faded away into fear.

_Please Spencer. Use that big brain of yours and find me. Please._

**--*---*---*--**

An hour had passed since Reid had found out that Anna was the latest victim. Hotch had pulled him into his office immediately and let him cool down and pull himself together. Ten minutes passed and Hotch asked him if he could handle this or if he was too close. Reid looked right at Hotch and said. "Anna needs me. I can't desert her now."

He went with Morgan and Prentiss to the newest crime scene: Anna's home. He sat next to Morgan in the passenger seat. He was strangely quiet. Wrapped in the thick blanket that was his mind. It wasn't until Morgan raised his voice that he even registered he was talking to him. He turned to Morgan with an expression like he didn't know what he was talking about.

"Reid. Did you even hear what I just said?" Morgan asked. Reid shook his head. "I said, do you really think you're up for this?"

Reid looked back at the road and avoided Morgan's piercing gaze. "Don't worry about me. Just focus on finding this guy. I'll be fine when Anna's safe." His voice was soft, yet cold.

Morgan looked at the road ahead of him and shook his head. "Whatever you say Reid."

They pulled up to the small two story house. It had a small yard and a porch swing. Reid recognized Anna's car and he remembered the first time he picked up Anna from this house. It was their first truly formal date and Reid had insisted on picking her up. Reid got out of the car and approached the yellow police tape surrounding the house. He flashed his badge to the nearest cop and went under the tape. He moved to the door frame and suddenly stopped. It was if his feet couldn't move. His whole body rejected the scene. The door was ajar and he could see the movement of people on the inside. This just want right. This was his girlfriend's home. _Just man up and do it._ Reid took a breath and pushed open the door.

The house was just as he remembered it. The living room was the first room he stepped into and all of the furniture was cream colored. Everything in the room was bright. The windows were all open; the furniture was against the walls and left the room with a very open feeling. Reid walked a little further into the living room and saw the first evidence marker. A small bit of blood lay in a stain on the carpet. The blood spot was about the size of Reid's palm. Too little for a kill blow, but probably the result of Anna getting knocked out. Reid looked away from the blood. His eyes landed on the dark green purse. He reached his gloved hands into the purse and pulled out Anna's phone. He flipped it open and found four missed calls. All of them from Reid. He sighed and closed the phone. Reid stood and looked around the room. Morgan and Prentiss were watching him from afar like they were waiting for him to collapse into tears. Reid looked back at the blood on the floor and spoke. He was as emotionless as he could get as he spoke.

"He must have taken her down here. There's not enough blood for it to be a killing blow."

Morgan nodded. "He probably surprised her. Laid in wait until she got home."

Prentiss spoke up. "She was getting home at 1 am. I doubt that's normal. Why would he wait until then?"

Reid looked up. "Actually it is. After a case I call her and she comes over, no matter what time of night. Last night when I got home she was actually waiting for me in my apartment." His mind drifted to last night. The glow of the candles on her face. The way her smell mingled with the peppermint… _Stop it. It's not doing you any good. It's not doing Anna any good._ Reid shook himself out of the memory and looked back at the purse. "She's been going home at one or two in the morning pretty frequently in the last two months. It wouldn't be hard for a stalker to deduce when she would be doing it next."

Morgan paced the living room. "So he stalks them beforehand. He's very organized and methodical."

Prentiss looked up the stairs and nodded. "Let's go see the roommate."

Reid interjected. "Her name is… was Kim."

Morgan and Prentiss stayed silent as Reid led the way up the stairs. Reid was trying his best not to freak out about all of this. He kept trying to think about math, graphology, psychology. He kept going back to all of the textbooks and English literature he's ever read. The knowledge of those things kept him from thinking too hard about Anna being hurt, or worse. He used his own mind as a shield. It was because of this is was able to keep from breaking down. He couldn't break down now.

He made his way up the stairs and down the hall. The last room on the right was Kim's bedroom and Reid headed straight there. He opened the door and found the only people in the room were the medical examiner and the photographer. The medical examiner was kneeling next to the body and the photographer was taking snapshots of the body. Reid stood next to what used to be Anna's roommate and shook his head. Kim's hands were bound in duct tape behind her back and her mouth was covered in a strip of duct tape. She was lying on her side. Purple bruises covered her neck in little finger shaped blobs. Her skin was ghostly pale and her eyes were wide and staring at the wall. The medical examiner was a plump older man with a mustache that looked like a furry white caterpillar over his lip. He looked up at Reid and spoke.

"Time of death was just after 11:30 pm last night."

Reid nodded. Morang and Prentiss looked throughout the room and Prentiss spoke.

"So, if he killed Kim at 11:30 then he was definitely waiting for Anna to come home. But how would he know what time she was leaving?"

"He would have to stalk the house for hours beforehand. To know when she's leaving." Morgan added.

"I called her at 11:30 to let her know that I was on my way home. She must have left just after that and that's when the killer came after Kim." Reid spoke and tried to sound as emotionless as possible but sadness creeped into his tone anyways.

"So, I'm trying to kidnap a woman, but to make sure I have to eliminate everyone in the house." Morgan tried getting into the kidnapers head.

"But this is a new pattern. He didn't start killing until the Strauss's." Prentiss added.

"Not true. In the kidnapping before that one he strangled their Dalmatian." Reid corrected her.

Morgan knelt down to inspect the body. "So the first killings were ones of necessity, like this one."

The medical examiner looked up at Morgan impatiently. "If you agents are done, I'd like to get Ms. Roberts out of here."

Morgan nodded and the medical examiner began to unbind her wrists and ankles. One they were off he moved to remove the strip of duct tape from her lips. When he did he screwed up his face in confusion and turned to Reid, Morgan and Prentiss. "Hold on a second. You might want to see this." He took a gloved hand and pried open Kim's jaw. Inside there looked to be a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and handed it to Morgan, who read it.

"She was not worthy of my collection. Anna, on the other hand, will be the crowning jewel of my set." Morgan paused and his eyes widened slightly. He cleared his throat and continued speaking. "P.S. Tell Dr. Reid I understand why he values her so much. She is a rare beauty indeed."

Reid stepped forward and took the paper from Morgan's hand. He read and reread the words over and over. He memorized every letter and the way it was shaped. Anger burned in his chest and he narrowed his eyes. _He is… gloating! The lunatic is gloating over his capture._ Reid never thought he could be so angry in his life. His hands trembled with the force of it. It scared him. He handed the note back to Morgan and left the room. He began to make his way down the stairs when he passed the open door to Anna's room. He backed up slowly and pushed open the door.

The room was exactly as he remembered it. The walls were painted a light green color and she had a black bedspread over her single bed. Her dressers were all black and anything else in her room was silver or green. She said the room wasn't to her liking, but Kim was studying design and fashion so she let Kim do the decorating when they moved in. Pictures hung all over the walls. Mostly black and white shots of places she's lived or been. Just over her bed there was a picture of a house in the snow. He knew that this was her childhood home. Reid moved as if in a dream and sat on the bed.

_Anna pulled Spencer by the hand into her room. She tried to stifle her laughter but it bubbled past her lips anyways. She was wearing a blue dress that hung just below her knees. Spencer was dressed up as well with one of his nicer suits. They had just gotten back from a play and instead of letting Spencer drop her off at the door, she had insisted on showing him her room. Despite his protests she was able to pull him up the stairs and into her room. She laughed again and Spencer tried to quiet her. _

"_Anna! It's two thirty in the morning. I can't- I can't stay here." His protested and his nervousness about the situation only made him cuter in Anna's eyes. _

"_Well it's seven thirty in Paris." Anna said with a smile. She pulled both of his hands into her own and pulled him further into her room. _

"_But we're not in Paris, Anna." Spencer said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. _

"_Au contraire mon cheri." Anna spoke on French and reached a hand up to brush a piece of hair off of Spencer's forehead. That was it. She spoke in French and Spencer melted. All protests went silent and he smiled. He wrapped his arms around Anna's waist and she looked up at him with those bright cerulean eyes. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. _

"_Anna, I-" A digital ringing suddenly came out of his pocket and he sighed in frustration. The light left Anna's eyes and her face fell. She stepped away from Spencer as he checked the caller ID. But the look in her eyes told him she already knew who was calling. _

"_Hotch?" She asked. Spencer nodded. Her whole demeanor dropped for a second before she pulled her self back together._

"_I'm sorry." He said to her and his eyes meant it. The corner of Anna's lips turned into a weak smile._

"_I know." She went up on tiptoe and placed a kiss on Spencer's lips. "I'll see you when you get back." _

Reid sat on the edge of Anna's bed with his head in his hands. He took a shaking breath and felt like he was waking from a dream. He looked about the empty room and everything seemed so…cold without Anna there.

_Anna. Where are you? _

**--*---*---*--**

Anna tasted the metallic taste of blood on her tongue as she was smacked across the face for the third time. Or was it the fourth? She couldn't remember. The bald man had returned some time ago and proceeded to punish her every time she didn't reply in a way he liked. Anna tongued the place her cheek had been cut against her own teeth. She felt the burning growing on her face. But her eyes burned with rage at the bald man. He smiled that condescending smile and it only made Anna hate him more. As if that were possible. The bald man was toned and fit. His slaps were hard and they hurt. He leaned in close and spoke to her.

"So, are you gonna play nice love?" His lips smiled, but his eyes were as cold and hard as steel. Anna smiled and spit a bloody wad into the man's face. The man jumped back and his face contorted in rage. He took a hand and wiped the spit off of his face. He balled that same fist and brought it quick and hard into Anna's abdomen. She let out an 'oof' noise and tried to bend over but the shackles prevented that. He had knocked the wind out of her. She took shallow breaths and tried to remember how to breathe as colored dots filled her vision. The bald man took a sleeve and wiped his face.

"Apparently you're not aware of how the game is played here." The bald man stepped close to Anna and grabbed a fistful of her hair. She gasped as he pulled harshly and forced her head back. He leaned in close to Anna and whispered in her ear.

"Oh, I'm gonna have fun breaking you, love."


End file.
